Bright spark wins hero award after helping elderly man

He stayed at the man’s flat in Kirbymoorside for more than four hours to ensure a smart meter was repaired.

Mr Nichol found the real problem was at the supply end – and it needed the utility supplier to make the repair.

But in talking to the man, who was in his late 70s, he appeared to be in a confused state at times.

Mr Nichol had asked the man, who lives alone, for contact details for his son.

He said: “The customer looked at his phone, but started referring to his son by a different name from what he’d used before.

“It might just have been that he’d looked at the wrong name on his phone and got mixed up. But we’ve all had dementia training, so you get an idea of what to look for.”

He eventually spoke to the man’s son in London and arranged for utility supplier British Gas to attend.

But Mr Nichol was concerned the man might forget and go to bed – meaning engineers would not be able to gain entry when they arrived – so he stayed to ensure they were not locked out.

He said: “I didn’t want him to go another night without heating or electricity.

“I didn’t know the award was coming. We were having a team meeting and my line manager Paul Roberts just produced the certificate.

“I felt proud and humbled.”