A MODEST schoolboy was hailed a lifesaver after putting his cadet training to good use when his blood-drenched friend arrived screaming on his doorstep in March 2015.

Cool-headed hero Owen Phillips, 14, calmed his friend, stemmed the bleeding, administered painkillers and phoned his dad.

Fin Zech, 15, who said he panicked at the sight of blood, said he does not know what would have happened if his friend had not been there.

Owen, who was upstairs in his family’s home in Curry Rivel, said: “There was a knock on the door and I heard Fin screaming.

“I rushed and fell down half the stairs. When I opened the door there was blood everywhere.

“I let Fin in, sat him down, gave him some painkillers and laid him down before cleaning him up and wrapping a cloth round to stop the bleeding.

“Then I put his hands above his head, gave him a drink and phoned his dad.”

Fin cut himself picking up a hot glass container with his lunch in, which shattered in his hands.

Owen said: “The bleeding was really bad and the muscle was hanging out.”

Fin, who attended Huish Episcopi Academy with Owen, was later taken to A&E at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton where he was stitched up.

“Owen did really well calming me down as I get a lot of shock and have a phobia of blood,” said Fin.

“As well as stopping the bleeding and giving me painkillers, he calmed me down and distracted me, taking my mind off things.

“If he hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Owen had only recently completed his first aid course with Langport Army Cadets.

Fin’s father, Paul Zech, wrote to the Somerset Army Cadet Force praising Owen’s actions.

He said: “When we arrived, we found Fin lying on the floor with Owen’s pillowcase in his hand to stop the bleeding, covered in a blanket with Owen keeping him calm by talking to him.

“We took Fin to A&E and when we told Owen’s story to the nurses they sang his praises.”

Major Rupert Elliott, Company Commander Somerset Army Cadet Force (The Rifles), said: “Owen put into practice his training and this has undoubtedly made a huge difference – his actions may have saved a neighbour’s life.

“We’ve recently returned from a company training weekend and it’s to his credit that many of his colleagues and friends had little or no knowledge of what Owen did – a very modest young man with huge potential.”