An emotional son has paid tribute to the three teenagers who saved his dad when he collapsed on a busy high street.

Russell Kimble shook the boys' hands and presented them with a reward after hearing how they had rescued his 81-year-old dad when he fell ill in the middle of Rainham.

His dad, Richard Kimble, had explained how they sat with him by the side of the road, gave him some water and then carried his shopping home for him.

Through the power of social media the TfL employee, of Chaffinch Close, Chatham, discovered the good Samaritans attended The Howard School, in Rainham and arranged to meet them face-to-face.

At the emotional gathering Russell, 49, spoke directly to Owen Edwards, Nathan Pennock and Harry James Russell.

"I just wanted to come and shake your hands and say thank you for what you did for my dad," he said.

"When you have parents who are 81 years old you will worry about them going out and about like I do and you will understand how I feel about what you did.

"It's nice to know there are good people out there who would look after them.

"Me and my family are so grateful you did not just leave him. You made sure he was okay, got him some water and even carried his shopping home for him. And you didn't leave until you had seen him across the threshold and delivered him safely back to my mum."

Shaking them warmly by the hands, he presented them with a handwritten letter and a £50 Amazon voucher.

He told KentOnline: "I am flabbergasted about what they did, and their kindness. I can't get over it.

"It was vitally important for me to say thank you to them. You hear so much bad press about the youngsters of today. Everyone stereotypes them. The way they looked after my dad when he was ill was fantastic."

And Richard, of Orchard Street, Gillingham, said he was so pleased they were on hand.

"I don't know what would have happened if they hadn't been there. You hear such horror stories about youngsters today. I was really grateful," he said. "To be honest, I was gobsmacked."

The independent octogenarian regularly takes the short walk to the high street for a bit of shopping and said there was nothing unusual about this day.

"I had a bit of a cough and a cold but I felt fine. I went to the shops and on my way back I was just about to cross the road opposite NatWest bank when my eyes started to spin and I began to feel light-headed."

Harry, 17, from Rainham, said it was their last day of term and he and his friends were heading into Rochester when they spotted Richard in difficulty.

"We were just crossing the road and we saw a man in front of us. He was stumbling for a bit and then he fell backwards. My friend, Owen, caught him before he hit the floor."

Nathan, 18, also from Rainham, added: "We sat with him and Owen went to buy him a bottle of water. We stayed there for a bit. When he was ready we walked him home."

Owen, 18, from Sittingbourne, said there was no way they were going to walk past and leave Richard.

"I feel like it's important that every person deserves the same treatment," he said.

"If that had been me or my nan or grandad I would have wanted someone to help. It would have been really unjust to have not offered any help I could provide."

The heart-warming reunion was able to take place after Russell put out an appeal online.

Steve Julian, who is head of sixth form at the boys' comprehensive, said his wife spotted the post.

"She read it and wondered if it might be boys from my school. That reminded me that I had bumped into Harry, Nathan and Owen on the last day of term and they had mentioned doing a good deed on their way out of school."

A former pupil at the school himself he said he was pleased to have some positive news to share, adding: "Often what you hear about The Howard School is not always good.

"To hear people talking about our lads in that regard is great because we know we produce some fantastic young men. I've spoken to all the boys' parents and they were all incredibly proud."

After being taken ill, Richard went to his GP who was able to confirm it was nothing too serious.

Russell said: "It's due to an imbalance of crystals in his ears."

His sudden collapse did put Richard off his daily shop for a little while as he was worried it would happen again, but he said: "I'm getting back out and about a bit now."