Hero father awarded for bravery

Quick-thinking Katanning local Cameron Bolto received a St John Community Hero award last Wednesday in recognition of the bravery and calmness under pressure that saved his son Hamish's life.

On Anzac Day this year, 10-year-old Hamish was out riding his dirt bike with some mates when he crashed into a barbed wire fence and suffered horrific injuries to his neck and throat.

Mr Bolto said Hamish's friends came back to tell him about the crash and he rushed to the accident site to find his son with a hole in his trachea, and semi-conscious.

It is the action Mr Bolto took immediately after finding his son in trouble that earned him the Community Hero award.

Mr Bolto said he carefully removed his son from under the fence, took off his helmet and untangled the barbed wire from around his neck.

"After I removed his helmet I could his eyes rolling back in his head as if he was passing out and that's when I thought I needed to give him CPR," he said.

"There was no use breathing through his mouth as his throat was open and you could see the trachea, so I put my mouth around his windpipe and closed my lips around his neck and breathed in there four times."

It was after this improvised resuscitation that Hamish came to and pushed his dad away.

"That's when we knew he was breathing OK," Mr Bolto said.

Katanning community paramedic Sonia Huggins was called to the scene by the team of volunteer ambulance officers and together they worked to keep Hamish alive until the rescue helicopter arrived to transfer him to Perth.

Ms Huggins said it was only because of the great work by Mr Bolto and the volunteer ambulance officers to stabilise Hamish they were able to save his son's life.

"We had three volunteers there and they were sensational," she said.

"They kept Hamish in the position they found him, they established communication with him very quickly and they called me in for back up as I have the advanced lifesaving skills and equipment."

St John Ambulance chief executive Tony Ahern praised Mr Bolto for his ability to give first aid to his son in a time of great stress.

"What Cameron did for Hamish was amazing and it showcases how important first aid is in instances such as this," he said.

"Seeing him (Hamish) making wonderful steps towards recovery is incredibly heart-warming and underscores why St John is committed to making first aid a part of everyone's life."