The family of a brave Dereham boy are bursting with pride after he came to the rescue of his seriously ill mother.

Quick-thinking Byron Kerrison sprung into action when he found his mum Jolanda, who has diabetes, was unconscious.

The 11-year-old realised she was having a hypoglycemic attack and dialled 999 for an ambulance when he struggled to wake her.

He followed instructions over the phone, checking his mother's airways, made bread and jam to raise her blood sugar and unlocked the door ready for the paramedics.

Mrs Kerrison, 45, was diagnosed with the condition more than 30 years ago, but had never previously experienced such a serious attack.

'I didn't know what was going on until I woke up in the ambulance,' she said. 'He has helped me when I have been hypoglycemic before by getting me a biscuit, but he has never had to deal with it on his own like that. At the end of the day, he saved my life. I would have slipped into a diabetic coma and been very unwell.'

Byron, who attends Toftwood Junior School, was worried when he woke up at 9am to find his mother had not woken him for school.

'I knew register would have been taken by then and thought she might have overslept,' he said. 'I have helped her before, but she was always conscious and aware of what was going on. This time she just stared scarily at me.

'I used the phone by the bed and had to say 'now' every time she breathed and checked whether he tongue was in her throat. I had to find some screwdrivers to move the stair gates so the paramedics could get mum downstairs. They asked me to make bread and jam and I made her tea with four sugars in it.'

Mrs Kerrison, who has four grandchildren, was taken by ambulance to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and placed on a glucose drip, but was allowed home later the same day.

'I remember my husband Mark bringing me a cup of tea at 7am that morning, but I can't remember anything after that. I didn't know what was going on,' she said. 'I was just amazed when I found out what he had done. I'm so grateful,' she added.

Her mother-in-law, Mary Kerrison, said Byron was a typical 11-year-old boy who loved his football and computer games.

'He's full of life and a cheerful, happy boy,' she said. 'He's done so well and we are so proud of him.'

Byron, the youngest of four children, has been rewarded by his family with a bit of extra pocket money.