Teenagers delivering News Shopper help 81-year-old woman who fell at Bexleyheath home

Doreen Shotton, of Hythe Avenue, Bexleyheath, has been "slow and unstable" on her feet since breaking the bottom of her back after falling over on a bus in 2009.

The 81-year-old said: "I went to get the post out of the door and I turned round, perhaps too quickly, and it threw me off balance and I fell on the floor.

"I laid there for quite a while."

Jenny Farmer, who turned 16 on Friday (January 6), and 15-year-old Blair Chandler were delivering News Shopper with their friends Nick Rose, 16 and Nathan Scott, 15.

Jenny, a Year 11 pupil at Bexleyheath Academy, said: "We were delivering the papers on opposite sides of the road.

"Nick ran over to me and asked what the name of the road was and said an old lady had fallen over."

The teenager ran over to Mrs Shotton and dialled 999.

Jenny said: "She was on the floor in her hallway just by the front door.

"She was asking for her daughter's number.

"I asked where it would be and she said in the back room in a phone book. It was a nightmare to find.

"Luckily her daughter phoned."

The teenagers stayed with Mrs Shotton until the ambulance arrived.

Jenny, who has been delivering News Shopper for more than a year, said: "We kept talking to her to make sure she was alright.

"Her speech was a bit slurred and she wasn't making much sense. I was just hoping she was going to be ok.

"I thought she had a stroke. I was a bit panicked."

She added: "Nick was inside helping me and Blair and Nathan were on the phone to the ambulance. We were all doing our little bit. We just guessed what to do.

"It was just lucky we were there, if we hadn't she could have been there a long time."

Mrs Shotten was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital suffering from bruising.

The grandmother-of-two said: "They were wonderful. Jenny was sweet and called the ambulance.

"She was very efficient and handled the phone call in a professional way.

"It's nice to know there are some very kind young people around that are willing to help people.

"They do get a lot of bad press but they are not all bad."

Mrs Shotton will get an alarm she can wear around her neck in case she falls again.

Mrs Shotton's daughter

Mrs Shotton lives with her daughter, Margaret, who was working in Greenwich at the time of the accident just before Christmas.

The 50-year-old healthcare assistant calls her mum every afternoon to check she is ok.

She said: "I got the shock of my life because Jenny answered the phone. I thought I had called the wrong number.

"She explained who she was and what had happened.

"When the ambulance arrived she phoned me back to tell me what was happening."

Miss Shotton added: "Jenny handled everything in a very professional way. It was very kind of them to stay with mum.

"It was lucky they were walking past."