A police officer has been praised by his bosses after saving the life of a woman who was threatening to jump into the River Mersey.
PC Andy Rigby, a neighbourhood patrol officer in south Liverpool, spotted the 37-year-old woman standing on the wrong side of railings near to Jaguar House and Columbus Quay.
The woman, who is described as vulnerable, had gone missing from a Merseyside hospital at around lunchtime, leading to a Force-wide search for her, which included the Force helicopter and the Coastguard's inshore rescue boat.
Intelligence had suggested she may have been intending to harm herself and her name and description had been circulated to all patrols.
At around 7pm, a man cycling along the river front reported seeing a woman walking on the wrong side of the guard railing towards the city and the first patrol at the scene was PC Rigby.
He said: "I got a call over the radio to go to Columbus Quay and when I got there a bloke on a bike told me where he had last seen her. When I got to her, several passers-by were talking to her just to keep her from jumping. I just started talking to her, asking what her name was and where she was from, and asking if she would come back over the railings.
"She seemed very distressed and the river was very deep with the tide just started going out. It was also pitch black on the water and very cold so I offered her my jacket. It all happened in a second but as she took it it seemed like she was going to try to push away from the railing again so I took hold of her and managed, with help of several passers-by, to get her back over.
The woman was given medical attention at the scene before being reunited with her worried family at the hospital.
Father-of-four PC Rigby, who has been a police officer for five years and is also a Royal Navy reservist, added: "It was all over in seconds. I'm just pleased I got to her and that there were people around who could help. Officers from all around the Force had been looking for her all afternoon so we are all pleased that she is back with her family."
Ch Insp Geoff Cheshire from the Liverpool South Command Team, praised PC Rigby and the other officers involved in the search, for their efforts.
He said: "Incidents like this are incredibly challenging for officers to deal with, even with the training constables receive. I am really impressed with the way PC Rigby managed to establish a rapport with the woman before bringing her to safety. The officer acted decisively, despite initially being on his own, and ensured that the efforts of many officers across the Force who had also been searching for her, did not end in tragedy for her and her family."
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