15335A TEENAGE boy who fell 8ft from a tree onto barbed wire has praised his best friend for his quick reaction.

Matthew Kelly, 13, was left with a 10in gash, exposing one of his kidneys, after tumbling from a tree in fields off Woolley Street, Bradford on Avon.

Within seconds his 13-year-old friend Ashley Gant was at his side, examining the wound, and dialling for an ambulance on his mobile phone.

The St Laurence School pupil then helped his classmate to a nearby pub car park to wait for paramedics to arrive.

Matthew's mother, Stevie Banks, 33, was at the scene before the ambulance, and caught a glimpse of the horrific wound.

"It was that deep I could see his insides. I was horrified," she said.

"The ambulance arrived and I was shaking. The doctors said he was very, very lucky.

"If he had not been such a chunky lad he would have lost his kidney, or ruptured it at the very least."

Matthew was whisked to the Royal United Hospital in Bath for surgery to repair the wound.

Mrs Banks, of Kingsfield, said: "It was Ashley's idea to take Matthew to a place where the ambulance could reach. He stayed very calm.

"Children these days get a bad press as being lads and yobs but this is a good example of them looking out for each other."

The boys were building a tree house on Thursday when a branch snapped.

Matthew bought his mate a box of chocolates to thank him.

"I am surprised he didn't faint. He is a good friend to have," he said.

"Anyone else I know would have run away.

"I remember the feeling of falling and feeling numb. I was screaming and Ashley told me to shut up so he could look at the wound."

Ashley, a keen fan of emergency shows like Casualty and 999, said he knew precisely what to do.

"I had to stay calm and look at his back and I used my phone to call the ambulance," he said.

"They told me if he fainted I had to lay him on his side."

Ashley's parents Danny, 38, and Cindy, 36, who both work at St Laurence School, said the friends were 'thick as thieves'.

Caretaker Mr Gant said: "We are always telling them to be careful but lads climb trees."