A NURSE from Heatherwood has been commended for her quick thinking to help a cyclist caught in a collision.

Care assistant Anna Maciag was driving to work when the Polish man was knocked down by a passing van on the Royal Windsor Way.

Anna, 39, acted calmly to keep the casualty conscious while she waited for further aid to arrive.

She checked his breathing and pulse and made sure he was positioned safely.

As she is also Polish, she was able to translate for the paramedics when they arrived on the scene, making it easier for them to communicate with the patient.

The cyclist was rushed to hospital where it was found he had a fractured skull and associated complications.

Anna believes the training she has had while working was extremely helpful and underpinned everything she did.

She said: "I am glad that the man is alive. It was a very bad accident.

"Drivers should be more careful, especially the lorries."

Anna also had a word of praise for her manager Yvonne Day, without whom she would not have had the confidence to do what she did.

Yvonne, who is a senior sister at Heatherwood, in turn applauded Anna's initiative.

She added: "We are really proud of her actions. She was calm and collected throughout and did some really good first aid."

Jessica Turner of Wexham Ambulance Station thanked Anna on the paramedics' behalf.

"Anna was a terrific help," she said.

"Her translation and reassurance meant that as an ambulance service, we were able to provide the best possible care and take the patient safely immobilised to A&E."

Inspector Daren Courtenay, of Thames Valley Police's Roads Policing Unit, was certain that Anna's response prevented the cyclist from suffering anything worse.

He continued: "I am deeply grateful on the man's behalf as well as enormously thankful that there are still many people like her who are prepared to stop and render help when needed."