I used to work with this fella, does anyone think he did anything out of the ordinary?


Essex officer, 38-year-old Steve Bindley and his partner Julia Wilson, had been shopping in Southend before they came across the man in trouble on the fifth floor of the Victoria Plaza car park, at around 10.15am last Thursday.

The man was poised to jump from the building before Steve and Julia struck up conversation with the man and called the emergency services. The pair managed to pull the man over the barrier to safety, before police colleagues arrived and administered emergency first aid before handing him over to a waiting ambulance crew.

Steve said: “This is the sort of thing that police officers do all the time, as we are trained to cope with such scenarios. I’m just pleased we were in the right place at the right time and just acted instinctively. I thought Julia acted brilliantly, she was extremely calm and even though she suffers from a fear of heights, she was hanging over the barrier helping me to pull him back over. I think she deserves all the praise in the world as I couldn’t have managed without her help.”

The man in his 40s from the Rayleigh area was taken to Southend General Hospital where he was joined by members of his family.

What a diamond, I've certainly never had this before, so in answer to your questions OBP... yes!

I have to say, although he's a police officer, he was off duty, and was with a bystander. I've stood powerless and watched someone jump from a multi storey in the past without being close enough to intervene. The guy died and it plays on me at times, but there's nothing I could have done about it at the time.

It may have been a case of "right place, right time", but talking someone down who wants to end their life is a very tricky skill to master, so I commend them both.

I think he did a fab job. I would put in a recall to duty and have 5 hours