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A teenager having a dangerous seizure in his bedroom was saved by his online gaming friend - 5,000 miles away in Texas.

Parents of 17-year-old Aidan Jackson were watching TV downstairs at their home in Widnes on January 2 when two police cars with flashing lights appeared in the road outside.

Three officers ran to the front door, quickly informing Caroline, 48, and husband Steve they had received a call from America, informing someone in the house was seriously unwell.

They rushed upstairs and found the teen in his bedroom, in the grip of a seizure, severely disorientated and not fully conscious of his surroundings.

He still had his headset on, and his American friend Dia - a 21-year-old woman - was still online in conversation with him.

She had grown worried after their conversation suddenly stopped dead, and suspected Aidan, who she has never met, had taken ill.

(Image: handout)

Frantically, she scoured the internet for the correct emergency service number for Widnes, and after some difficulty, she discovered the right contact detail.

Aidan, who is studying photography and graphics at college, was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, and had numerous tests before he was discharged the following afternoon.

This is the second time the teen, who has ADHD and Asperger's, has had a seizure after an incident last May when he was hospitalised for a week.

An official diagnosis is yet to be made.

Mum-of-four Mrs Jackson, a teaching assistant, told the ECHO: "We are so thankful for what Dia did.

"I'm sure it's not every day that Cheshire emergency services get a phone call all the way from America.

(Image: handout)

"It was absolutely amazing to get police officers and ambulance workers to the scene so quickly.

"We can’t thank Dia and the emergency services enough for what they did, considering the 4,750 miles between Dia and Aidan.

"It is absolutely amazing to think that Aidan took ill at approximately 9pm, and help arrived at roughly 9:40pm.

"We always say to the kids, be careful who you speak to online, but in this case, it was invaluable."

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Dia said: "I just put my headset back on and I heard what I could only describe as a seizure, so obviously I started to get worried and immediately started asking what was going on and if he was okay, when he didn’t respond I instantly started to look up the emergency number for the EU.

"...when that didn’t work I just had to hope the non emergency would work, it had an option for talking to a real person...and I can’t tell you how quickly I clicked that button.

"Someone answered the call and I had to force myself not to panic and to stay calm...

"It takes longer to get help if they can’t understand me, I told him that I wasn’t from the EU and I was trying to get help for my friend who had just had a seizure, in England.

"...right after I hung up I heard him finally responding.

"His mum had come to check on him and he had no idea he had just had a seizure, he doesn’t even recall having that conversation with me or his mum.

"I was almost sobbing when I told him that I had to call the ambulance to come get him because I was scared that he was hurt.

"He didn’t seem to understand and just responded with a simple, “OK”.

"The most surreal thing was hearing his mum come upstairs with the medical team, hearing them talk to him, asking if he’s doing OK, saying that I had just called them saying he had a seizure.

"I was really scared and worried, but I’m glad I stayed level headed enough to call the emergency and get him checked out.

"It’s better safe than sorry."