Bravery award for courageous Leighton Buzzard girl, 4, who helped firefighters into house so diabetic mum could get emergency medical care

A brave four-year-old Leighton Buzzard girl has been hailed a hero after she helped firefighters gain access to her home so that her diabetic mother could receive emergency medical care.

Crews from Leighton Buzzard Fire Station were called to a house in the south of Leighton Buzzard, described as a ‘lock-in’, and found that young Lacie-Mai Town was in the property with her mother Perri who was unresponsive.

On arrival, the firefighters were met by paramedics and Lacie-Mai’s grandmother who visits the house on a daily basis to check on the family due to Perri's diabetic condition. On this occasion she had become concerned for her daughter’s health and had phoned 999 for help.

Firefighters spoke to the four-year-old through the letterbox and she explained that "mummy was asleep". Despite much encouragement she couldn’t find the house keys to put through the letterbox, or open the front door.

Firefighters started work to force entry into the property using specialist equipment, but while this was going on, Lacie-Mai was asked if she could go upstairs to her mum’s bedroom. With a ladder up to the window, the firefighters could see her mum laid on the bed.

With Watch Commander Richard Burton instructing, Lacie-Mai went to give her mum a cuddle, which got a response of an arm movement in reply. This was fed back to the paramedics – which was a good sign and lessened the urgency to enter the house.

A fire service spokesman said: "Whilst the crew continued downstairs, Lacie-Mai was asked to see if she could get up and open the window of the bedroom. With plenty of encouragement she managed to drag a chair over to the window (no mean feat for a tiny person!) and climbed up.

"Very carefully, she moved all of the ornaments and pictures and with clear instructions she tried many times to open the window. Unfortunately due to the design of the window, even releasing the catch wouldn’t open it.

"After noticing that another window was designed differently, she was asked her to try that. ‘That’s my bedroom!’ she replied. Lacie-Mai then managed, with incredible effort, to open a window and allow the firefighters entry to the property."

The paramedics then treated Perri and within 15-20 minutes she was sitting up and talking and on the road to recovery. The spokesman added: "Lacie-Mai stayed with her mum and Watch Commander Burton throughout and was very grateful, politely thanking all the paramedics and firefighters who had helped her mum."

Following the incident, which took place on February 3, Lacie-Mai was invited for a tour of Leighton Buzzard Fire Station and was presented with a bravery award.

The spokesman added: "Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service wants to thank Lacie-Mai for her bravery and confidence in helping our crews and paramedics to gain entry to the property and help her mum. We wish them all the best."