Three teenage good Samaritans have been praised for their kindness after they picked up and carried a man who had taken a fall in a Suffolk park.

Robin Kett, 71, had taken a tumble and broken his leg while walking his dog in Crowley Park on the evening of Saturday, March 11.

Stowupland High School pupils Oliver O'Neill, 15, Charley Bridges, 15, and Alfie Hunt, 16, had been kicking a ball around in the Needham Market park when they heard a man screaming out for help.

They came to his aid and called an ambulance, but when it became clear there would be an hour-long wait for one to come, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

Two of the boys left to get his wife, taking the dog with them, while Oliver stayed with Mr Kett.

When his wife returned with their car, the young men carried him between them into his car to be taken to hospital.

15-year-old Oliver O'Neill said: "We called an ambulance and they say they would be an hour. He couldn't really wait an hour. It was too cold.

East Anglian Daily Times: Alfie Hunt, 16Alfie Hunt, 16 (Image: Abbe Cook)

"So we carried him. It was the first thing to come to mind. We couldn't really leave him there, someone had to help him. He had been screaming to get someone else's attention."

His mum Madeline O'Neill said: "That age group gets such a bad reputation. I know they are intimidating when they are hanging around in parks. They get a bad name.

"But this is so sweet. Oliver told me about it like it was no big deal. He has a lovely side to him."

East Anglian Daily Times: Oliver O'Neill, 15Oliver O'Neill, 15 (Image: O'Neill family)

Mr Kett was taken to A&E and later admitted to hospital with a broken tibia-fibula, where he remains under medical supervision.

His wife, Julie Kett, said she gave the boys "a great big hug" for their help.

The 62-year-old opened her front door on Saturday evening to find two teenage boys with her labrador, telling her that her husband has taken a fall.

Mrs Kett said: "They helped my husband. That, for me, is superb. It's those boys who deserve the recognition. 

"They are a credit to their families. We live in a beautiful community in Needham Market and those boys epitomise that. They are amazing lads."

East Anglian Daily Times: Charley Bridges, 15Charley Bridges, 15 (Image: Bridges family)

She added that her experience at Ipswich Hospital A&E was "seamless", and commended the NHS as "the backbone of our country".