Cheryl Smallwood, 17, and Karen Wilkinson, 19, who work at the Nunu day nursery in Scholes, Wigan, used their first aid knowledge to keep 86-year-old Mary Churton comfortable until an ambulance arrived.
Karen, a nursery nurse, and Cheryl, a trainee, were queueing at a cashpoint on their lunch break on 17 March when Mrs Churton fell down just two metres away from them in Wigan city centre.
The teenagers acted quickly and asked a passer-by to call an ambulance.
'Our first reaction was to go over and see if she was all right or hurt,'
said Karen.
Cheryl said, 'We cleared everyone out of the way. I introduced myself and Karen, we put Mrs Churton into the recovery position and kept reassuring her.' Knowing they should keep her warm in case of shock, they blanketed her with coats and kept her talking.
'The people who were around us seemed to panic and didn't want to do anything in case it was wrong. But 90 per cent of us at Nunu are fully qualified first aiders,' said Cheryl.
Nursery manager Elizabeth Greenough said, 'The first we knew of it was when they rang us to say they might be a bit late back from lunch.'
She praised the girls' first aid skills. 'Not only is it important in the nursery, but for outside it as well. We're pleased because it shows the training's working.' The nursery presented Karen and Cheryl with 100 gift vouchers as a sign of appreciation.