Award for young Ioan after raising thousands for service which saved his life

A SCHOOLBOY who has raised almost £50,000 for the Wales Air Ambulance after the service saved his life following a freak accident, has been recognised at the Child of Wales Awards.

- IOLO GRIFFITHS

loan was in a coma for three weeks

Ioan Watts, from Caerphilly, received the Young Fundraiser accolade at a glittering ceremony hosted by Welsh television presenter Gethin Jones at Swansea Arena.

The 12-year-old said: “It’s exciting to be part of this ceremony, and a lovely surprise to get this award.

“After my accident I wanted do something to help the charity and started off with a 2K run, then we climbed Pen y Fan.”

The whole Watts family attended the award ceremony, with Ioan’s mum Lydia deeply moved that he had been nominated by the charity.

She said: “We are super proud of Ioan, it's so lovely for all of us to be able to be with him to celebrate how far he has come.

“His accident obviously had a massive impact on the whole family, so it is lovely to do something so positive together.”

In October 2022, the Watts family were celebrating their youngest son Rhodri’s birthday when it became an occasion to remember for all the wrong reasons.

Ioan was playing on his scooter in the garden shed, but the fun soon stopped when he slid across the concrete and fell 8ft over a ledge head first, leaving him fighting for his life.

Due to the nature of Ioan’s injuries, the Wales Air Ambulance dispatched two critical care teams - one by air and one by road.

Upon arrival, it was immediately clear to the team that Ioan was extremely poorly; he was unconscious, having a seizure, and he had started vomiting, which meant his airway was blocked.