Officer praised for saving suicidal man

A police officer from Market Drayton has been commended for bravery in saving a suicidal man threatening to throw himself down a steep embankment.

Constable Paul Frank, the local police officer for Market Drayton rural north, has been awarded a divisional commendation for displaying "bravery, commitment and professionalism beyond the call of duty".

He put his own life at risk in saving the man during the incident on January 24 this year, bosses said.

Constable Frank was on night shift when the police contact management centre took a call from a man stating he was going to commit suicide. The man gave no details of his whereabouts, but immediate inquiries indicated he was likely to be in the Market Drayton area.

Church bells could be heard in the background as the caller again stated he was going to jump and kill himself.

Sergeant Mike Keen, the supervising officer, said: "Paul used his local knowledge to commence a search of likely locations and quickly found the man by a local church, standing on the edge of a 40ft steep drop. This consisted of a small patch of rough ground, leading to a one-foot-wide concrete ledge with a further 20ft sheer drop onto a road.

"Realising the man was extremely drunk, Paul began to engage him in conversation in an attempt to dissuade him from harming himself. The man then jumped or slipped, falling down the first bank, so Paul went after him.

"As the pair careered through thorn bushes and over rocks, Paul managed to grab hold of the man just before the ledge and somehow stopped them both from going over it, avoiding the sheer drop to the road."

Sergeant Keen said it was raining heavily at the time, with strong winds and cold conditions.

The man was still trying to break free from Constable Frank's grip and throw them both off the ledge, he said.

Despite being injured in the fall, Constable Frank continued to restrain him for a further 45 minutes while fire crews using ladders carried out a rescue.

Sergeant Keen said: "The man was taken to the Princess Royal Hospital at Telford with minor injuries. But for Paul's brave actions, the injuries would likely have been very severe or even fatal."

By Deborah Collins