IT’S been a week of heroes. On Monday, for instance, I met my own personal idol – Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards.

For those of you over 40, he’ll need no introduction, but for those of you post The Spice Girls, here’s a quick biog: in 1988, Eddie, aged 24, qualified as the sole British competitor for the Winter Olympics ski-jumping competition in Calgary, Canada.

So far, so good, right? And you’re probably thinking successful, sexy, driven, Olympian. Except... well, here’s where it starts to get interesting (and inspirational).

Eddie was incredibly short-sighted. So much so, he was forced to wear ‘jam-jar’ glasses, despite the fact they fogged up when skiing.

He also had to pay for all his own travel and equipment, meaning he couldn’t even afford proper skis (he had to wear six pairs of socks just to get his boots to fit), let alone a helmet (the Italian team felt so sorry for him, they gave him one).

When he got to the games, the world watched with baited breath as he stood, alone, at the top of the ski run, having defied every obstacle.

No, he didn’t win, that would be too Disneyesque, but he won the hearts of millions.

Watching it at home on TV, I remember saluting a close-up of Eddie and thinking ‘Wow!’.

So actually meeting him at a ‘do’ last week to highlight next year’s winter games, I was, quite frankly, star-struck.

And brilliantly, I felt that same kind of awe when, coming into work on Wednesday, I read our front page story about the seven-year-old who saved his mother’s life after she’d suffered an epileptic fit.

Ollie Maddigan, of Finstock, near Witney, put his mum in the recovery position, called an ambulance and let paramedics in through a window after she suffered a seizure at their home...ALL ON HIS OWN.

I mean, when I was that age, I couldn’t even tie my own shoe laces, let alone use a phone. And even today, I’m not sure, hand on heart, I’d be as cool and quick-thinking as Ollie was.

After all, as his mum rightly pointed out: “For a grown-up to see someone fit violently like I did, is a very, very scary experience. For Ollie to see it and deal with in such a responsible, grown-up kind of way... I am just so proud of him.”

And that’s what’s so great about true heroes isn’t it? They’re real. Way to go Ollie!