October 31st, 2019: Liam Payne surprised 9 years old Ben Hedger with an invitation to be awarded the Child of Courage award at the Pride of Britain awards (source). Last December Ben saved her mom’s life when she suffered a seizure while driving.

The Pride of Britain awards honors individuals of all ages and from all walks of life who through their strength, courage, and generosity make the world a better place. Thousands of people each year are nominated from all over the UK for these prestigious awards. From this large pool, only a few are then selected for the awards. The award ceremony has been airing since 1999 and it is the most-watched award show of British television. The show is attended by politicians, royals, and hundreds of personalities in the entertainment industry, arts, and sport.

Ben had been invited to test some video games at a video games company and was competing with someone who he thought was named Callum. However, to Ben’s surprise, Callum turned out to be former One Direction member Liam Payne. During the game, Liam came out from behind a screen and told Ben “You beat me!”. At this point, Liam presented Ben with an invitation to the Pride of Britain awards to be awarded the Child of Courage award.

When Ben saw Liam he was shocked because he is a fan of his. His mom said “Ben didn’t realize who it was at first. Then, after a couple of seconds, he suddenly realized it was him and cried because he was so overwhelmed. But they were happy tears.” 

Last December Ben, at only 8 years of age, showed incredible courage while in the car with his mom. Ben’s mom Lauren was driving 65 mph when she suffered a seizure which caused her to lose control of the car. Ben took the wheel, steered the car safely onto a grass patch, and turned on the emergency lights. Ben said that he learned how to steer by playing videogames. 

When the car came to a halt, another driver stopped and came to Ben’s help. Lauren was immediately brought to a hospital where she made a full recovery. Lauren said, “It’s because of Ben we’re not hurt or dead.”

The Pride of Britain awards were this week and Ben received his Child of Courage award during the ceremony.

Liam’s former bandmate Louis Tomlinson has taken part in the Pride of Britain awards twice in the past. Last year he helped present the Child of Courage award to Ella Chadwick and in 2016 he presented 12-year-old Dylan Graves with a Pride of Britain Bravery award for having saved his friend James from being hit by a car. During the 2016 ceremony, Louis also bid thousands of pounds on paintings by 10 years old Rhea Kara. Rhea had been awarded the Young Fundraiser award for raising funds for Reverse Rett through the sale of her paintings.

Pictures are shared from this Mirror article and from Lauren’s Twitter account.