Police officer sparks anger with selfie after motorway suicide attempt incident

He later apologises, saying 'no offence meant'

The police officer came under fire for apologising that there had been a suicidal person on an M5 bridge (Twitter)

A police officer has been strongly criticised on social media after posting a selfie which appeared to belittle a woman's suicide attempt.

Sergeant Harry Tangye tweeted a picture of himself with a long tailback of cars in the background, explaining that "someone threatening to jump off bridge" had caused the delay in Somerset.

He captioned the photo: "Sorry guys and girls, someone threatening to jump off bridge, but now off and traffic moving."

The picture of himself in the shot and apparent aportioning of blame to a suicidal person sparked a backlash on Twitter.

He has since apologised, saying: "Apologies for any offence. None meant." Many commentators on social media also expressed their support and appreciation for the difficulty of his job.

"Harry ... this was an excellent use of social media for public information. Keep up the good work," said Twitter user Brendan Brookshaw.

A 25-year-old young woman was negotiating with the police for hours after appearing to be about to jump from an M5 motorway bridge. Avon and Somerset Police talked to her while a tailback of cars 19 miles long gathered below.

She is reportedly safe and well but has been arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance.

The incident saw delays between junction 26 and 27 near Wellington in Somerset.