LEYTONSTONE: Man on bridge safe (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

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Man who threated to jump off Leytonestone bridge is safe

4:57pm Wednesday 25th January 2012 in News By Sarah May Hayes

LEYTONSTONE: Man on bridge safe

A MAN who threatened to jump off a bridge over the A12 has been brought to safety by police.

Police were called to the scene at 1pm and after almost four hours of talking to the man he was coaxed away from the bridge and is now safe.

The incident closed the A12 at the junction with Mission Grove. Traffic is backed up to Ilford in one direction and as far as Hackney in the other.

Schoolgirl Wendy Maguire died after falling from a bridge on the same stretch of road on January 13.

If you have more information please contact Sarah Hayes on 07795 315 542.

Comments(24)

ferdy505 says...
8:20pm Wed 25 Jan 12

So this bloke wanted to jump off one of the bridges? Knee jerk reaction from the police closing 4 miles of road & blocking up the East End.

So they'll still insist on not covering in these bridges?

What will they do if someone decides to do this while the Olympics are on? Just keep the 'olympic lanes' open for the priviliged few to drive by the incident. They better have a police patrol on all bridges.

This probably wont be the last time.

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georginajackson says...
9:01pm Wed 25 Jan 12

Doesn't matter about the traffic at least he is safe. It was my son that saw this man on the bridge with rope around his neck and phoned the police, hes still shaken up about this The police were there within minutes

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mr-happy says...
8:36am Thu 26 Jan 12

seriously, this is no better than people who jump in front of trains, I have no sympathy, it just causes a huge amount of disruption for everyone.

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sbg2012 says...
9:53am Thu 26 Jan 12

Unfortunately the disruption of traffic does matter!!!

Excessive pollution is increased, loss of revenue and public safety is not considered.

Fortunately I had a spare bottle of water for my five year old, in our 4 mile journey home which took 2hrs and 40mins.

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Nairn says...
10:28am Thu 26 Jan 12

When you, or someone you know, feels suicidal or indeed takes their own life, perhaps you'll see things differently.

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sbg2012 says...
11:08am Thu 26 Jan 12

Clearly you have missed the point!

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SB123456 says...
11:27am Thu 26 Jan 12

Some people's lack of sympathy is shocking. For anyone to be considering taking their own life suggests that they are suffering to a great extent. Just remember that could easily be you one day. none of us are exempt from the pressures of life!

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Nairn says...
11:58am Thu 26 Jan 12

sbg2012 wrote:
Clearly you have missed the point!

Sorry, what point?

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sbg2012 says...
12:37pm Thu 26 Jan 12

The point clearly being disruption of traffic!

Does my point in way refer to the person on the bridge?

My point clearly states the disruption to the entirety East of London where consequences and damages are incalculable.

Clearly with the Olympics imminent we should expect better management of such events.

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Nairn says...
12:49pm Thu 26 Jan 12

Sbg2012 Clearly you have missed the point that this article is about a man who felt so desperate that he wanted to end his life. Suggest you find an article about traffic congestion and make your comment there. As you say you make no reference to the man on the bridge so...

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sbg2012 says...
1:08pm Thu 26 Jan 12

Nairn. Clearly you misunderstand the effects such actions have!

I must have seen three incidents linked to the above where people actually suffered injury. I sincerely hope they are well.

Regards end of my post.

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leslieoggs says...
1:37pm Thu 26 Jan 12

All sympathy to the troubled person involved, but the original poster is correct. There was absolutely no need for the chaos that ensued. Thousands of people were gridlocked and there was massive confusion for schools, parents and vulnerable people; loss of income, pollution, you name it. sbg2012 points out that "I must have seen three incidents linked to the above where people actually suffered injury". I saw at least one myself, and I think there were probably many more, in addition to the sort of stress generated which does indeed eventually lead people to consider jumping from high places. Should have been much better contained.

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Nairn says...
1:38pm Thu 26 Jan 12

Sbg2012 having worked in mental health for almost 25 years now I am very clear the effects of such actions have. Most people who try or actually do take their own lives do so in private. There have been 3 actual suicides here in the last 10 days. So sorry that this ONE attempt caused you such a hard time. But get used to it as huge increase in such events in last 18 months due to economic situation.

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mdj says...
1:39pm Thu 26 Jan 12

Without being unsympathetic to a personal tragedy, the larger issue is that such events can seemingly put East London into lockdown at a moment's notice. A year or two ago an attention-seeker on a roof near the Tube turned a journey from Clapton roundabout into a three-hour ordeal.One firetruck with a cherry-picker and a hose would have 'talked him down' in five minutes. The presence of this massive bypass has not relieved Leytonstone High Road's status as a bottleneck, but this time deliberately designed as such by local politicians and highway planners. They need to explain why they have not prepared contingency plans to run the upper part of the High Rd two-way in such circumstances: even a tidal flow would help enormously. The Police need to explain why they close both carriageways instantly without having an alternative plan. Two soft-top vans side by side brought under this poor man's intended dropping point would have defused the crisis. There are probably better solutions available than mine: the point is that such crises are easily foreseeable, but those paid to exercise foresight don't seem to have a plan. One can't imagine that this paralysis will be allowed when the Olympic bigwigs want the road for themselves!

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Nairn says...
2:22pm Thu 26 Jan 12

Yes agree with you there mjd particularly as from the photo above it looks as though there were enough people to handle the situation had the man tried to move along and/or over the bridge

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leyton_man says...
4:23pm Thu 26 Jan 12

I was following the drama as it unfolded on twitter yesterday when I was working. I can never understand how people ask what is going on, or come out with spurious rumours when all you need to do is search a timeline and get the answer.

Far from being just a distraction for learning what celebrities have for breakfast, it really is the most useful tool to know what is going on at any given moment, far more useful than waiting for the regular news bulletins.

Good news that the chap is OK, and not jumped, hanging or blown up, all listed on twitter for some reason.

The situation does however shine a light on rather a large flaw in the Olympics venue when one side of the city is essentially closed down to traffic.
All without 'italian job' style devices.

As for the olympic legacy, I would have thought making the A12 three lanes all the way along and fixing the road hell that is Leytonstone would be far more useful than anything else for local people.

Anyway, happy the chap is ok. Could I also recommend people start using twitter for up to the minute information.

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pan says...
4:54pm Thu 26 Jan 12

leyton_man wrote:
I was following the drama as it unfolded on twitter yesterday when I was working. I can never understand how people ask what is going on, or come out with spurious rumours when all you need to do is search a timeline and get the answer.

Far from being just a distraction for learning what celebrities have for breakfast, it really is the most useful tool to know what is going on at any given moment, far more useful than waiting for the regular news bulletins.

Good news that the chap is OK, and not jumped, hanging or blown up, all listed on twitter for some reason.

The situation does however shine a light on rather a large flaw in the Olympics venue when one side of the city is essentially closed down to traffic.
All without 'italian job' style devices.

As for the olympic legacy, I would have thought making the A12 three lanes all the way along and fixing the road hell that is Leytonstone would be far more useful than anything else for local people.

Anyway, happy the chap is ok. Could I also recommend people start using twitter for up to the minute information.

I agree.

This just goes to show the impact of shutting the A12 (as is due to happen including other roads during the Olympics) The traffic was terrible yesterday it took me 4 hours to get through the Rotherhithe tunnel to the M11.
There is no reason to not assume that we are facing the same type of delays as and when the A12 is restricted for the Olympics.
There is a small window of opportunity here for the organisers to really think hard about the potential chaos that the Olympics will bring to the East of London and its suburbs and make any necessary changes.
We are hearing about the actual costs that are way above the original quotes and what type of legacy the games will leave, well at the moment it is looking like the games will be remembered as the time when London ground to a halt.

[quote][p][bold]leyton_man[/bold] wrote: I was following the drama as it unfolded on twitter yesterday when I was working. I can never understand how people ask what is going on, or come out with spurious rumours when all you need to do is search a timeline and get the answer. Far from being just a distraction for learning what celebrities have for breakfast, it really is the most useful tool to know what is going on at any given moment, far more useful than waiting for the regular news bulletins. Good news that the chap is OK, and not jumped, hanging or blown up, all listed on twitter for some reason. The situation does however shine a light on rather a large flaw in the Olympics venue when one side of the city is essentially closed down to traffic. All without 'italian job' style devices. As for the olympic legacy, I would have thought making the A12 three lanes all the way along and fixing the road hell that is Leytonstone would be far more useful than anything else for local people. Anyway, happy the chap is ok. Could I also recommend people start using twitter for up to the minute information.[/p][/quote]I agree. This just goes to show the impact of shutting the A12 (as is due to happen including other roads during the Olympics) The traffic was terrible yesterday it took me 4 hours to get through the Rotherhithe tunnel to the M11. There is no reason to not assume that we are facing the same type of delays as and when the A12 is restricted for the Olympics. There is a small window of opportunity here for the organisers to really think hard about the potential chaos that the Olympics will bring to the East of London and its suburbs and make any necessary changes. We are hearing about the actual costs that are way above the original quotes and what type of legacy the games will leave, well at the moment it is looking like the games will be remembered as the time when London ground to a halt. pan

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leslieoggs says...
5:00pm Thu 26 Jan 12

pan wrote:

leyton_man wrote:
I was following the drama as it unfolded on twitter yesterday when I was working. I can never understand how people ask what is going on, or come out with spurious rumours when all you need to do is search a timeline and get the answer.

Far from being just a distraction for learning what celebrities have for breakfast, it really is the most useful tool to know what is going on at any given moment, far more useful than waiting for the regular news bulletins.

Good news that the chap is OK, and not jumped, hanging or blown up, all listed on twitter for some reason.

The situation does however shine a light on rather a large flaw in the Olympics venue when one side of the city is essentially closed down to traffic.
All without 'italian job' style devices.

As for the olympic legacy, I would have thought making the A12 three lanes all the way along and fixing the road hell that is Leytonstone would be far more useful than anything else for local people.

Anyway, happy the chap is ok. Could I also recommend people start using twitter for up to the minute information.
I agree.

This just goes to show the impact of shutting the A12 (as is due to happen including other roads during the Olympics) The traffic was terrible yesterday it took me 4 hours to get through the Rotherhithe tunnel to the M11.
There is no reason to not assume that we are facing the same type of delays as and when the A12 is restricted for the Olympics.
There is a small window of opportunity here for the organisers to really think hard about the potential chaos that the Olympics will bring to the East of London and its suburbs and make any necessary changes.
We are hearing about the actual costs that are way above the original quotes and what type of legacy the games will leave, well at the moment it is looking like the games will be remembered as the time when London ground to a halt.

I was ambivalent about the Olympics. I'm a sport lover, and the thought of taking my young family to the London Olympics was genuinely exciting. It has long since become apparent, however, that the organising authorities care diddlysquit about local residents, so now we've got no tickets, no possibility of tickets, and we'll have to deal with all the disruption. Given events yesterday (and more particularly the ticketing fiasco and the high-handedness of the organising authorities), I'm becoming ever more certain that the whole event could go disatrously wrong, and any early optimism has abated. Like everyone else, I'm glad the guy's OK.

[quote][p][bold]pan[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]leyton_man[/bold] wrote: I was following the drama as it unfolded on twitter yesterday when I was working. I can never understand how people ask what is going on, or come out with spurious rumours when all you need to do is search a timeline and get the answer. Far from being just a distraction for learning what celebrities have for breakfast, it really is the most useful tool to know what is going on at any given moment, far more useful than waiting for the regular news bulletins. Good news that the chap is OK, and not jumped, hanging or blown up, all listed on twitter for some reason. The situation does however shine a light on rather a large flaw in the Olympics venue when one side of the city is essentially closed down to traffic. All without 'italian job' style devices. As for the olympic legacy, I would have thought making the A12 three lanes all the way along and fixing the road hell that is Leytonstone would be far more useful than anything else for local people. Anyway, happy the chap is ok. Could I also recommend people start using twitter for up to the minute information.[/p][/quote]I agree. This just goes to show the impact of shutting the A12 (as is due to happen including other roads during the Olympics) The traffic was terrible yesterday it took me 4 hours to get through the Rotherhithe tunnel to the M11. There is no reason to not assume that we are facing the same type of delays as and when the A12 is restricted for the Olympics. There is a small window of opportunity here for the organisers to really think hard about the potential chaos that the Olympics will bring to the East of London and its suburbs and make any necessary changes. We are hearing about the actual costs that are way above the original quotes and what type of legacy the games will leave, well at the moment it is looking like the games will be remembered as the time when London ground to a halt.[/p][/quote]I was ambivalent about the Olympics. I'm a sport lover, and the thought of taking my young family to the London Olympics was genuinely exciting. It has long since become apparent, however, that the organising authorities care diddlysquit about local residents, so now we've got no tickets, no possibility of tickets, and we'll have to deal with all the disruption. Given events yesterday (and more particularly the ticketing fiasco and the high-handedness of the organising authorities), I'm becoming ever more certain that the whole event could go disatrously wrong, and any early optimism has abated. Like everyone else, I'm glad the guy's OK. leslieoggs

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ferdy505 says...
9:06pm Thu 26 Jan 12

As I've previously said its about time they enclosed all these bridges along that road.

Billions are being spent on the 2012 running races competition, maybe they should spare a few quid to do this job or this wont be the last time this will happen.

I think we're all desperate in our own way. I'm not working & moneys running out, but I have no intention of jumping on to the A12 at anytime. Why didnt he run off into the woods & do himself in instead of trying to involve other people?

Regarding further disruption on this road, for the olympics, the slip road from the Green Man roundabout is being closed so you cant even get on to the A12!!! Obviously everyone will have to go down that nice Leytonstone High Road!!!!!! Shouldnt take that long!!!!! :-)

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Nairn says...
9:27pm Thu 26 Jan 12

ferdy505 (and all who felt primarily upset about the traffic congestion)
People who are at the point of suicide are ILL. It is an illnesses. They don't think straight. Causing traffic congestion doesn't enter their minds. Repeat: People are ill when they feel like this. 1 in 4 people will get this illness in their lifetime. 25% of the population.
If neither you nor someone you know has, to date, had a mental illness, you are lucky. It's more likely though that someone you know will have had/has a mental illness but is too scared to say so because of stigma and discrimination associated with saying so. Perfect examples of which are stated above

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mdj says...
10:04pm Thu 26 Jan 12

'Why didnt he run off into the woods & do himself in instead of trying to involve other people?..'
Well, on the corner of Cathall Rd and the High Rd is a graphic film poster, entitled 'Man on the Ledge'.
Nairn, I don't think people are being flippant or callous about this man's distress, but asking how this sad but private event was able to bring the lives of a million people to a halt. Personally, I've often wondered who decided to site the borough's secure psychiatric unit next to an open-access level crossing.

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Eppingforest1234 says...
6:10pm Fri 27 Jan 12

mr-happy wrote:
seriously, this is no better than people who jump in front of trains, I have no sympathy, it just causes a huge amount of disruption for everyone.

What a disgusting and insensitive comment.
Many people who try to commit suicide have mental health problems, and those who don't are probably not thinking straight.
Would you still have no sympathy if one of your friends/family attempted suicide?????
Possibly the police could have handled this better in terms of the traffic, especially with the Olympics coming up, but the situation could have been a lot worse.

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Janny22 says...
9:39am Sun 29 Jan 12

@georgina, I hope your son is ok, what an awful experience. I think the bridges should be enclosed, it wont solve suicides as people who want to do that will find a way (sad as it is and there is help available for peoples mental state) but enclosures at bridges and train stations (some have them) is a good idea. Money permitting as usual !!!!

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julie23 says...
12:17pm Tue 31 Jan 12

i do understand that mental health is a terrible thing but from past experience in this field i would say that when somebody does something so tragic in such a public way its done for attention more than anything else. if he wanted to take his life he would have either done it in the privacy of his own home or jumped straight away. not sat on the bridge for hours on end. and sorry to say this but as i was one of those motorists that was stuck in the gridlock.. 4 hours to drive 13 miles you do tend to lose sympathy.

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