An Asda home shopping driver from Bolton has been hailed for rescuing a seven-year-old boy who became trapped in a bathroom. Stephen, 66, who works at the retailer's Bolton store, was on a delivery route when neighbours rushed to him for help.
How the rescue unfolded
Stephen had just pulled up to an address in Bolton to make a delivery when neighbours told him that a young boy in a neighbouring house was trapped in a bathroom. The door lock had broken, leaving the child hysterical. Stephen immediately climbed up a pole to reach the bathroom window and spoke to the boy through it to keep him calm until firefighters arrived.
Stephen said: "The window had a security lock on it and would only open a few inches, so I couldn't climb through. I spoke to the fire service and they said they'd get there as quick as they could. While we waited I held the boy's hand through the window as he was quite distressed. I just kept talking to him and just calmed him and told him everything would be okay. By that point a small crowd had gathered. I asked the customer I'd delivered to if they could get an ice lolly for the boy which cheered him up."
Firefighters arrive and boy is freed
Firefighters quickly arrived at the scene and broke open the bathroom door. The boy was unharmed and ran to Stephen to give him a big hug. His parents were also grateful and shook Stephen's hand. Stephen commented: "Helping is just in my nature, I couldn't do nothing."
Neighbour praises Stephen's actions
A neighbour who witnessed the incident wrote to store manager Abbas to thank Stephen, saying: "The trust he built up with the boy in a very short time was amazing. What an amazing man to react the way he did to help strangers." Asda shared details of the incident on social media, attracting hundreds of responses within minutes, many praising Stephen. One user wrote: "Lovely story and Stephen is obviously a good man. We need more Stephens." Another added: "Well done that man. Thank you for keeping a little boy calm and happy, bet the ice lolly kept his mind off the drama." A third commented: "He’s delivered to my house a few times! Such a lovely man!"
