A TEENAGER used her first aid skills when she saw an elderly woman lying on the ground in Worcester.

Amanda Blockley’s quick-thinking helped to reassure the 77-year-old, who had fallen down some steps in The Tything.

The 14-year-old used first-aid skills learned as an Army Cadet and during life-saving lessons as a swimmer to treat a cut on the woman’s head and put her in the recovery position until help arrived.

The Blessed Edward Oldcorne School pupil was on her way home to Lower Wick with her mother after auditioning for a part in Worcester Operatic and Dramatic Society’s summer musical.

She said: “I saw the woman roll over onto her back and we pulled over. She appeared to be unconscious and was very pale, but fortunately I think she was just shocked. She had a bump on her head and a cut above her eye, which was bleeding badly. Her glasses had cut her face as well and she had hurt a finger.

“She said she had fallen down the steps, that her name was Brenda and she was 77.

“Mum fetched a pillow and some blankets from the car while I tried to attend to the bleeding from her head and talked to her, telling her that she was being really brave.

“A passing couple sent for an ambulance and an off-duty paramedic who was driving past came to help. The woman went off to hospital. I do hope she was all right.

“What with that and the audition, it turned out to be an eventful morning.”

A West Midlands Ambulance spokesman said “Having a general knowledge of basic first aid can always be a helpful as you never know when you may need to use it to help a stranger or close family member. Having first aid knowledge and knowing what to do to assist someone who may be injured or taken seriously ill can make the difference to a person’s recovery or potentially save their life.”

A spokesman for the Worcestershire Royal Hospital was unable to give an update on the woman’s condition.

Amanda has been a member of WODYS for five years and will be appearing in Oklahoma! when it opens at the Swan Theatre, Worcester, on Tuesday, August 4.