A NINE-YEAR-OLD Abbeyview boy saved his step-dad's life when he took an epileptic fit. 

Lynburn Primary School pupil James McMahon stepped up by staying calm and putting Arthur Adlam into the recovery position to keep him safe. 

Arthur was standing on a chair just as the epileptic fit hit, leaving him in great danger on Monday evening.

Arthur, 36, of Lomond Crescent, told the Press: “I was putting stuff away, so I was standing on top of a chair. 

“I suffer from back problems now and again and I felt a slight twinge but ended up falling from a fit.

“My wife, Leanne, is heavily pregnant, so she couldn’t do anything to break my fall and she shouted for James to help. 

“He put me in the recovery position and stopped me from choking. 

“He was just brilliant!”

James, who has a younger brother and sister Xander, eight, and six-year-old Sophie, also got his siblings to help by asking them to fetch pillows. 

“When I fit, my wife normally comes to my aid, but her bump is quite big now that she’s six months' pregnant!” Arthur added. 

“I wouldn’t care, it has been weeks since I last had a fit, but as I was standing on a chair it was obviously quite a height to fall. 

“James just took control of the situation and followed everything his mum said.

“He also shouted for his younger brother and sister and asked them to fetch pillows, so I wouldn’t bang my head. We couldn’t be more proud of him!”

James learned the basics of first aid at an after-school group but that was quite a few years ago. Arthur and his mum think instinct just kicked in when he came to help. 

Arthur added: “We couldn’t believe how grown up he was as my wife normally just deals with my fits. 

“But it’s obvious that he had been watching her closely and paying lots of attention! 

“It normally takes about five or 10 minutes before I recover but if I’m fitting for more than five or six minutes, that’s when you need to ring an ambulance. 

“James seemed to know all this and was even keeping an eye on the time, we were just so surprised at how much he remembered. 

“It’s quite a few years ago since he learned first aid but it just goes to show that you might think you don’t know it but when it happens, your instinct just kicks in, even when you’re just a youngster. 

“My epilepsy began when I was about 12. It does cause me a lot of problems but I try to not let it bother me and I carry on.”