Broadbridge Heath ‘hero’, 13, spends his birthday looking after crash victim

When Miles Keating-Pedersen, 13, heard that Louise Dann, known to him as Nanny Peg, had come off her bicycle on the way to buy wrapping paper for his birthday, he sprang into action. Miles’ mum, Kellie Keating, said: “As soon as he had heard he raced down there. “He’s an incredible little boy. I was so proud of him. He’s 13 going on 21.” Miles first staunched the bleeding from Louise’s head wound and then kept her spirits up when an off duty policeman took over the first aid. The crash happened at the junction of Billingshurst Road and Church Road at 6.50pm on Monday, September 2, according to Sussex Police. Louise said: “I fell off and hit my head - it was a bit scary. “To be honest I just thought I bumped my head. “[But] I saw this tap of blood come pouring from my head. I felt worried. “People came from everywhere with tea towels. Silver foil to put over me. Just holding pressure on my head. “It was pouring like a tap.” While Louise was waiting for an ambulance Miles spoke to her to prevent her falling unconscious. She added: “It was Miles’ voice that kept bringing me round again. He was brilliant. Absolutely great. “He went beyond any expectation that I would ever have for a child in that position with that amount of blood. “There’s nothing I could say that is a strong enough word to explain how good, how caring, kind, thoughtful [he was]. “I can’t put it into words how proud I am - what a good lad.” Louise said Miles, who she has known all his life, was ‘constantly’ there for her. She added: “I’m like his grandmother. “He comes here if he needs to talk to me. He will always come see me and talk to me.” Louise, who had her head wound stitched up at East Surrey Hospital, said she spent nearly an hour waiting for an ambulance following the crash. She added: “[I] lost ever such a lot of blood. It was only Miles’ voice that brought me back out towards the end. “He’s a hero. One million per cent.” But despite the praise Miles stayed modest about the incident. He said: “I tried to keep myself calm. She was bleeding quite a lot. “She was slipping out of consciousness after about five minutes. “I sat down, held her hand. Every time I said Nanny Peg it snapped her back.” Miles made jokes to help boost morale while Louise was waiting for the ambulance. He added: “I was just trying to lift the negative from it. “I’m happy she’s alright. It just feels good [to be a hero]. “It just feels nice to know I helped someone. I would like to thank everyone for their help.” A South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) spokesman said: “We take all concerns raised seriously and we are sorry it took longer than we would expect to respond to Ms Dann. “We work hard to reach patients in a timely manner but there are times of increased demand when we can take longer than we would like to attend. “We would urge Ms Dann to contact directly so we can look into her concerns in detail.”