Larbert High School pupils help lost and distressed pensioner get home safely

Larbert High School pupils Callum Stewart and Joshua McKinley were there for a distressed elderly woman in her hour of need. Picture: Michael Gillen

A proud mother has praised her son after he and his friend came to an elderly woman’s aid in her time of need.

Amateur photographers and life-long friends Callum Stewart and Joshua McKinley had been brushing up on their picture-taking skills when they were approached by the pensioner, who was lost and confused, near the Dobbie Hall in Larbert.

The woman had been out in the early evening on October 9 without a jacket and appeared distressed.

She had then begun relaying various addresses when she was asked where she lived.

Larbert High School pupils Callum (15) and Joshua (17) quickly grasped the seriousness of the situation and started making calls to family members to ask for help, one of whom was Callum’s mum, Gillian Stewart.

Although she wasn’t able to answer her son’s call in time, the quick-thinking teen had by then made contact with his gran, Valerie, who became involved and eventually managed to ascertain the woman’s address before driving her home.

Prior to his gran’s arrival, however, Callum had given the coat he was wearing to the pensioner, who is thought to be in her 70s.

Gillian says the most pleasing aspect of what was a worrying scenario was the way her son, who has autism, behaved so calmly throughout.

Although the Stewarts haven’t heard from the woman or any of her relatives since, they are just grateful the situation had a positive outcome.

Recalling her son’s actions, Stenhousemuir woman Gillian said: “It makes me feel proud.

“What made me even more proud was he had put himself out there for the lady.

“My boy has additional needs. He never usually gives things up for anyone else.

“His night got put on hold so he could help this lady.

“He keeps saying, ‘I can’t believe I’ve actually helped somebody’.

“Most 15-year-old boys wouldn’t even think to help somebody. He said to me, ‘You’ve brought me up well’.”

Callum added: “It made me feel grateful knowing that the person was safe.

“We thought she was lost and she was upset so we asked her if she was safe.”

Offering advice to others should they be placed in a similar situation, the teenager said: “Just try to get as  much information as possible.”