A medical student from Ilford who began a campaign for more public first aid training after assisting at the scene of a crash has been nominated for an award.

Wajid Rehman, 21, is this month’s nominee for the Ilford Recorder/Redbridge Rotary Young Citizen Awards.

On the afternoon of June 26, Wajid saw a Mercedes collide with a motorcyclist who had been walking near the British Heart Foundation store in Cranbrook Road, Ilford.

The biomedical student told the Recorder that he took control of the scene, called the ambulance and gave them live updates of the patient’s condition while they were on route.

After witnessing the lack of first-aid knowledge among the other bystanders, Wajid has decided to campaign for first aid to be taught more widely.

He said: “Every citizen should have basic life-saving skills handy when such catastrophes occur, as lack of knowledge or awareness leads to unfavourable outcomes for victims of these catastrophic events.”

He is trying to get support from his university medical professors and has also reached out to Ilford South MP Sam Tarry, Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal and St John Ambulance.

Wajid said that he wants to persuade the Department for Education to push first aid training in “all stages, all systems, and levels of education”.

He added: “As a first aider being able to help and support a casualty and their family on what could be the hardest day of their lives is an honour and a huge pleasure.

“Everyone should be first aid trained to ensure casualties have the best chance of survival.”

The Young Citizen Award celebrates the great things being achieved by young people of Redbridge, aged 25 and under.

Each month’s nominee will be invited to the Mayor’s Community Awards night in March, where an overall winner will be announced.

The overall winner will receive £100 from Redbridge Rotary Club and will, along with the runner-up, go through to the national Young Citizen final run by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland.

To nominate someone, contact daniel.gayne@archant.co.uk at the Recorder or visit https://www.redbridgerotaryclub.org/contact giving information about the nomination and contact details.