A MOTHER has called her 11-year-old son her little hero after his quick thinking saved her from having plastic surgery and skin grafts after she scalded herself on her car radiator.

Royston Crow: Debbie Pyatt's arm was burnt after boiling water was splashed over itDebbie Pyatt's arm was burnt after boiling water was splashed over it (Image: Archant)

Tommy Kane gathered snow and dabbed it onto his mum Debbie Pyett after the expansion tank lid of her black BMW blew off, splashing boiling water onto her face, right arm and hand.

The incident happened last Wednesday on the A505 between Royston and Baldock when Debbie and her son both from Sandon, were driving to an appointment in Stevenage.

“My car started to make funny noises and all of a sudden the temperature gauge shot up, so I pulled over on the hard shoulder to check what the problem was.

“Tommy came out of the car with me and was standing to the side of the car while I checked what the issue was,” Debbie said.

As the mother-of-six lifted the bonnet of the car, the lid to the radiator blew off spraying boiling water onto her.

Panicked stricken, the 41-year-old whose skin had started to peel began screaming.

“The sleeve of my coat was burning and I could feel my skin peeling on my face too.

“Tommy helped me roll up my sleeve, I then tried to call my dad and sister and while I was doing that Tommy had began gathering as much snow as he could.”

The youngster who attends Sandon JMI school began dabbing the ice onto his mother.

“I didn’t know what he was doing, I was too worried about getting him to the appointment in Stevenage which we had waited two years for.

“He told me to stay still, he just kept running to the side and picking up as much snow as he could and patting it everywhere, he was so calm,” she said.

Her son continued pressing the snow on the affected areas until paramedics arrived and Debbie was taken to the Lister Hospital for further care.

Debbie said: “Doctors said had it not have been for Tommy putting snow on me there could have been further damage, I would have had to have skin grafts and even plastic surgery to my face.

“I am so proud of him, when I asked him what made him think of doing that he said, ‘mum its simple, the water was hot and the snow was cold, it just makes sense’.

“Had it not have been for him it could have been a lot worse,” she said.

A surgeon for The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Mr Nilesh Sojitra said: “The little boy’s quick thinking effectively cooled down the heated area which will have limited the depth of damage which could have been caused by the burn.

“Burning can cause scarring and hopefully by applying the cold ice he will have reduced this significantly avoiding any skin graft which would have been required.”