Richmond police bridge rescue: Officer hailed as hero after rescuing a woman who jumped from south London bridge
PC Fab Ahmed rushed to grab the woman as she fell from a bridge in Kingston-upon-Thames
A London police officer has been hailed a hero after he risked his life to save a woman mid-air as she jumped from a bridge in south London.
PC Fab Ahmed threw himself forward to grab hold of the woman as she tumbled from Kingston Bridge.
Police and firefighters were called to the bridge on the evening of 28 October after reports of a woman sitting on the wrong side of the ledge.
After a minute unsuccessfully trying to talk the woman down, PC Ahmed was radioing for back-up when she jumped.
He and a firefighter rushed forward to grab her by the shoulders but her weight pulled them off the ground and all three ended up hanging over the safety railings before being rescued by colleagues.
In a statement on the force's Facebook page, PC Ahmed said: "I hadn’t realised the height of the bridge as I looked down.
"Then, as we took more of her weight with our arms, both our legs went up in the air. My abdomen was on the ledge and because of the weight we were being pulled down as well.
"I just thought: ‘We need to save her.’ At the time the goal was just to save her – to get her over the side."
His commanding officer, Claire Moxon said she was "extremely proud" of the "immense courage and bravery" shown by her team that night.
She said: "If the officers and the fire fighters hadn’t taken the actions they did I am sure there would have been another very different ending to this event."
The police officer, who was been with Kingston Police since 2009, escaped with a minor injury to his arm as he pulled the women back onto the bridge.
Samaritans provides confidential support to anyone feeling down and depressed or struggling to cope. Volunteers can be contacted round the clock by phone 08457 90 90 90, or you can e-mail jo@samaritans.org.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies