Three officers managed to build rapport with woman and coax her to safety

A woman threatening to jump off Putney Bridge during the evening rush-hour has been talked down by the police.

Members of the public reported a person standing on the edge of the bridge at 7.20pm on 23 March. The officers from Emergency Response Team B discovered a female in some considerable distress and threatening throw herself into the cold water of the River Thames below.

PC Glen Cheal (L) PC Lisa Fletcher (R). PC Mayner had the day off

In a team effort, involving the Marine Policing Unit, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust and RNLI London Lifeboats, PCs Louise Mayner, Glen Cheal and Lisa Fletcher, managed to build a rapport with the female and eventually coax her to safety. After checking on her physical safety the officers then ensured she was able to get the further help that she needed.

PC Glen Cheal said, "This was a challenging situation during a busy rush hour period, luckily we able to prevent the lady from jumping in. This was achieved by close team working and the actions of PC Mayner".

PC Lisa Fletcher said, 'We were able to stop the female at the point of jumping in, due to the empathy of the officers on scene we managed to get her back over the ledge and got her the help she needed'.

The officer's supervisor, and the officer in charge at the scene, Sergeant Steve Clarke said:
'this was a real team effort with our London Ambulance colleagues and RNLI, the female was clearly distressed and required immediate intervention. If it wasn't for the actions of PC Cheal, PC Fletcher and PC Mayner we would have been looking at a very different story'.