A LIFESAVING teenager celebrated his 18th birthday on Saturday by taking part in an Army passing out parade and being named the overall winner of a police Young Heroes award for the year.

Nick, from Blackhill, won the June Young Heroes award from Consett Police and was presented with a new trophy at the weekend.

Three times in the space of six months, Nick stopped to help someone in distress, saving a life on the last occasion.

In February last year, Nick helped calm a very distressed young girl following an incident on a bus and then waited with her while police arrived.

Just four months later, he found the same young girl in the local park crying and banging her head against a tree and again reassured her until help came.

Then in July 2019, the then 16-year-old was walking home through Consett Park when he saw a young man lying on his back unconscious in the undergrowth, his legs sticking out onto the pavement.

Nick quickly checked his air way to make sure he was breathing, then tried to put the man into the recovery position.

Nick, a new recruit to the Scots Guards who will be training at Catterick, said: “I’ve always taken an interest in learning First Aid because you never know when you are going to need it.”

PCSO Cath Brown, from Consett Police, said: “We have honoured a number of award winners over the last year who show the true face of young people in Consett, but Nick really is a deserving champion.”