The girl who took to a mobility scooter to rescue great-grandad

LOOKING back to the week that was June 24 to June 30, 15 years ago...

THE world reacted to the news that pop legend Michael Jackson died, on June 25, 2009.

The singer, aged 50 and known to millions as The King of Pop, suffered a cardiac arrest at his home and arrived at a Los Angeles hospital in a coma.

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A quick-thinking ten year-old rode a mobility scooter half a mile to rescue her stricken great-granddad after he suffered an angina attack, in June 2009.

Kyra Young became concerned for 89-year-old Jack Atkinson after he failed to return home after taking his dog for a walk.

Kyra, who had been at Mr Atkinson's house in Shinwell Crescent, Thornley, County Durham, followed the route on which he normally took the dog around nearby Cooper's Court and she found him doubled up on a grass verge.

The schoolgirl found his keys to the 4mph Mayfair Freerider machine. Wasting no time, she ran back to his home and got his electric mobility scooter, which does not require a driving licence to use, and drove it half a mile to where her great-granddad waited.

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Mr Atkinson, who had a heart attack in 1999, said: "I am proud of her. I had an angina attack and she said 'give me your keys and I will go and get your buggy'. I got a pain in the right side of my chest. I could not go any further."

Mr Atkinson, who had his spray inhaler with him, managed to drive the scooter home with Kyra, and her step-sister Hannah Young, nine, running alongside.

Back home, Mr Atkinson recovered and did not need further medical attention.

A wonder dog who instinctively knew when his owner was about to pass was certified as the country's first type two diabetes "hypo alert" dog, in June 2009.

Tinker, the border collie, saved the life of his owner, Paul Jackson, several times, including when he dragged Mr Jackson home after he collapsed in the street.

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When Mr Jackson was about to suffer a "hypo", or low blood sugar episode, Tinker cried, licked his face or barked to attract attention. He had been known to give up to half-an-hour's warning of an attack.

Dogs can be trained to spot type one diabetes hypoglycaemic episodes, but Tinker, then-six-year-old rescue dog, was the first known to spot type two difficulties – and, remarkably, began doing so without training.

Mr Jackson said: "He's a family pet and a lifesaver. He is everything to me."