Police officers have described how a simple offer of kindness prevented a suicidal woman jumping to her death from a motorway footbridge. 

PC Amber Reynolds, PC Paul Spencer and two PCSOs Alan Winston and Harjinder Singh were called to reports of a woman on a walkway over the North Circular in South Woodford at 9.20pm on May 8.  

A "visibly distressed" 35-year-old woman had climbed over safety railings onto a six-inch ledge and looked set to throw herself into the path of the oncoming traffic below. 

The officers immediately closed the carriageway and called an ambulance, while the two PCSOs dealt with crowd which had gathered. 

Speaking to the Guardian, both PC Reynolds and PC Spencer said it was the first time they had dealt with such a situation. 

PC Reynolds said: “It was a highly sensitive situation but we are trained to keep our emotions under control and focus on the task in hand, which was to calm the lady down. 

"All sorts of thoughts are going through your mind, you don't want to say something wrong which upsets her and triggers her to jump, it was a nerve-racking experience. 

“It was difficult because I had never met her before so I didn’t know anything about her or why she was thinking of jumping.

“She didn’t say much and wasn’t able to articulate anything clearly, she was visibly distressed."

Despite the severity of the situation, it was a simple offer of kindness which persuaded the distressed woman to move to safety after about 10 minutes.  

PC Reynolds added: “I just had a calm talk with her asking if she wanted a hot drink and a chat, luckily it worked and she responded." 

The woman was then detained under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital for treatment. 

PC Spencer said he also drew on his training to stay calm and professional during the ordeal. 

He said: “Of course we are human beings and have families so it was hard to think clearly while knowing the lady could have jumped at any time. 

"But we have had training to deal with these high stress situations. 

“We all knew however it could have gone wrong very quickly, even if she didn’t want to jump she could have slipped or a gust of wind could have knocked her off balance. 

“Those thoughts are in your head and it could have been a very different story.” 

 

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

(From left) PC Amber Reynolds, PC Paul Spencer, PCSO Alan Winston and PCSO Harjinder Singh.