TWO police officers have been praised for stopping a suicidal man jumping on to a busy motorway.

Pcs Steven Gilks and Nicola Lewis were called to reports of a man on the A423 bridge crossing the M40 at Banbury at about 10.15pm on Valentine’s Day last year.

When the officers, both 26, arrived they found a man, in his 30s, on the other side of the railings, determined to leap to his death.

Despite risking being dragged over the railings themselves, they grabbed the man as he began to jump, and held on to him for five minutes before help arrived.

They have now been commended by Chief Constable Sara Thornton for their outstanding performance, at a ceremony at Drayton Golf Club.

Pc Gilks said: “When we got there we could see he was shuffling towards the edge.

“He had both arms off the railings and wasn’t holding on for support.

“As I grabbed him he began to jump and we just held on to him for dear life.

“We are only of slight build, and he was quite tall and of heavy build. He must have been about 15 stones or more.

“While we were holding on to him, he was trying to take off his fleece and jeans, so we were losing grip quite fast.

“He was shouting, ‘Let me go’. It felt like an eternity we were holding him for.”

He added: “We thought we were going to drop him.”

Pc Lewis managed to call for back up by pressing the emergency button on her colleague’s police radio.

Other officers arrived and helped haul the man to safety before detaining him under the Mental Health Act.

Pc Gilks said: “We got a thank-you from his niece for saving his life. There was a serious risk we could have been dragged over with him. The barrier wasn’t very tall at all, about 3ft, so it’s quite easy to get over.

“I was thinking we could lose him, but I didn’t want to see someone die.

“If he had fallen, he would have caused a serious accident on the M40 and because it was dark, it would have caused a pile-up.”

Pc Gilks said it was the most challenging situation he has dealt with in his three years as an officer.

He said: “I feel very humbled that we’ve been recognised.”

Pc Lewis, also an officer for three years, said: “All I could think of was holding on to him.

It’s not something we expected to come across, but you just have to deal with these situations when they arise.

“It was instinct.”