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A four-year-old Australian boy has helped save his mother from a medical emergency by calling an ambulance - just a day after she taught him how.

Monty Cocker dialled the national emergency number - 000 - on 27 August, telling operators: "Mummy has fallen."

"As we got to the address, he was in the window... waving to us," said paramedic Mark Small.

Inside the house, Monty calmly helped the ambulance crew work out that his mother, Wendy, had suffered a seizure.

His quick thinking made a huge difference, Mr Smalls said: "Especially if you hit your head when you fall, or you have a prolonged seizure, it can be quite serious."

Paramedics returned to the house in Launceston, Tasmania, on Tuesday to present Monty with a certificate of appreciation.

Ms Cocker, who is a nurse, told reporters Monty knew he'd done a good thing but had been downplaying his role, telling friends at childcare it was "easy".

"His grandma came around and was like: 'Where's the superhero?' And he said: 'Oh no, I'm not superhero. I'm just a hero.'"

The afternoon before the incident, Ms Cocker had explained to Monty how to call an ambulance from a locked or unlocked phone. She didn't expect he'd have to use that knowledge so soon.

She said she remembered feeling unwell and trying to call her husband, but little else.

"I came to and it was all happening, the ambulance was there. [I'm] so proud of him... he's certainly saved the day."

Mr Smalls said: "I've been a paramedic for 13 years, and I've had older children call an ambulance, but never, never a four-year-old."

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