Swansea City youth players steer car off M4 after mum faints

A 13-year-old schoolboy averted tragedy by steering a car on to the hard shoulder of the M4 after his mum fainted behind the wheel.

Hari, from near Cardigan in Ceredigion, grabbed the wheel after his mum, Catrin, fell ill near junction 47 of the motorway about two weeks ago.

Hari and his friend Dylan were being driven home from Swansea City’s football academy.

The boys’ head teacher, Carwen Morgan-Davies, said they were both “heroes”.

Hari’s mother was taken to Morriston Hospital in Swansea and has since recovered.

He said his mother passed out “all of a sudden” while she was driving.

“I took over the steering wheel and I put her on to the hard shoulder and we drove about a mile down the M4,” he said.

“Dylan told me to put the hazard lights on when we were coming to a stop, Dylan said to put the handbrake on.”

When asked how he knew how to drive his Mum’s car Hari said: “I don’t know, I was thinking about what my uncle said on the farm.”

When the car came to a halt he got out of the car to flag down help, where Dylan called Hari’s father.

“It could have been an accident because we were on a slip road going off to a different junction,” said Hari.

Dylan 12, from Aberporth, travels with Hari to the Swans Academy as often as five times a week, shouted instructions from the rear of the vehicle.

“Hari grabbed it (the wheel) really quickly, to be fair to him,” he said.

“He got to the hard shoulder. I was shocked and so was Hari. Everybody in school has been asking us what happened.”

Mr Morgan-Davies, the school’s temporary head teacher, said: “They are stars on the football field and heroes in this situation.

“They responded with great maturity.”