A PAPER boy who saved an elderly woman from freezing to death has been praised by Help the Aged for his actions.

John Stott, 14, of Stockton, Teesside, noticed the 79-year-old, who lived alone, had not collected her newspaper for several days and alerted emergency crews.

Ambulancemen found she had been lying on her bathroom floor for two days. She is recovering at the University Hospital of North Tees.

Peter Beaty, chairman of Help the Aged in Durham and Wearside, has sent John a gift of a set of pens and a letter congratulating him on his actions.

He said: "I think it was superb. It is a pity there are not more people like John. Elderly people are vulnerable and it is nice to know there are lads like him looking out for them."