'Traffic cop' Matthew, aged 10, to the rescue

From the The Bolton News, first published Saturday 25th Aug 2007.

A QUICK-thinking schoolboy has been praised by firefighters after using his football cones to block traffic at the scene of a car crash in Bolton town centre.

Matthew Wilkes, aged just 10, heard the smash in Deansgate from his bedroom in the Gypsy Tent pub at 10.40pm on Thursday.

The Red Lane Primary School pupil rushed downstairs with his football cones, which he carries everywhere and uses for dribbling practise, and proceeded to mark an area around the two cars involved in the accident to stop others smashing into them.

Matthew, whose mum Hilary is the pub's landlady, also grabbed the first-aid kit from behind the bar."

He said: "I just wanted to make sure no-one else got hurt. I'm proud of what I did and loads of people have been coming up to me to say thank you.

"I got the first aid box and my cones. I didn't want any more cars to crash. It was great to meet the firefighters."

Fire crews were delighted with the youngster's actions.

Watch commander Malcolm Jones said: "Matthew did a fantastic job. We're really proud of him."

Three people were taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital as a precaution after a Nissan Prairie and Vauxhall Astra crashed. The two men and a woman suffered minor injuries.

Mrs Wilkes, mum-of-eight, said: "I can't believe how quickly he thought of how to help. The first I knew about it was when the firefighters told me."

She said Matthew always carried the cones with him to use in football matches with his pals.

"They certainly came in handy," she added.

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