CARING teenager Kelly McAllister was praised for her presence of mind and maturity this week after looking after a small boy she found wandering alone in Amesbury town centre.

Little Joel Randall (2) caused a scare when he went missing for about 25 minutes after disappearing from his father's side while they waited to collect Joel's five-year-old sister Jasmine from Amesbury Primary School last Thursday afternoon.

"One moment he was there and the next he had vanished," said postman Adrian Randall (34), of Geneville Rise, Amesbury.

"I looked for him for about ten minutes and then the headmistress at the school phoned the police. We were all in a bit of a panic. Another ten to 15 minutes passed before we eventually found him.

"As we searched I made my way into the town centre and suddenly saw him sitting on wall with a girl, who turned out to be Kelly.

"I was so relieved to see him that I just picked him up, said thank you to the girl for looking after him and shot off - forgetting to ask the girl who she was."

But next morning, Adrian's wife Maria telephoned Stonehenge School to try to establish the girl's identity and, after making inquiries, headmaster Andy Packer discovered it was Kelly.

"We are so grateful to Kelly. Just about anything could have happened to Joel had she not bothered to stop and stay with him. It doesn't bear thinking about," said Mrs Randall.

"What she did was so sensible and mature."

Kelly (13), who lives with her grandparents Alan and Susan Baker, in London Road, Amesbury, told the Journal: "I had just finished school when I found the little boy.

"I asked him who he was and where he lived and he just pointed.

"I realised that someone would be looking for him, so I decided to stay with him until his parents turned up. That's all there was to it."