An eight-year-old boy sparked a paramedic drama when he pretended to faint so he would not have to go to school.

Maicon Douglas’s frantic mum called emergency services in Maringa, Brazil, when she was apparently unable to wake him for an hour on 17th March.

Suspicious medics knew almost immediately he was faking it and told mum Ellen Bonnaci there was nothing wrong with her son.

They were sure, though, when one of them said loudly they would have to jab him with a syringe for a blood test and he opened his eyes.

Doctor Joel Agostinho Ghiraldi Darte told local media: “On the way, we started imagining that it could be anything from simple hypoglycemia to a sudden illness.”

But when they arrived they realised it was nothing serious and the boy was likely faking the symptoms.

They placed a finger on his forehead and found his eyelids were moving as normal.

The doctor added: “An initial assessment revealed the child did not have cold skin, was not cyanotic (purple skin), had no clinical alterations and reacted to the slightest stimulus. We were calmer.”

Maicon finally jumped awake when he overhead they would need to prick his finger with a needle for a glucose test.

The test was performed and did not indicate anomalies, according to the doctor.