Three heroic cleaners have been commended after saving a woman's life at a County Durham train station.

During night shift in May, Connor Strover, Phil Williams, and Keith James, who all work for Northern trains, noticed a woman in distress as they cleaned a train.

She unexpectedly climbed onto the railway line as they approached her.

Mr Strover and Mr Williams quickly contacted a dispatcher, who warned the control room and signalled the driver of an oncoming train.

The specific location of the incident has been omitted to protect the identity of the individual involved.

Mr Strover, a train presentation leader for Northern, said: "Everyone was in the right place and if they weren’t it could have ended very differently.

"The driver saw the dispatch baton was on red and managed to stop around 20 meters in front of her – it was close.

"As soon as we saw her that night, we knew something was off because of the way she walked past our train."

With all incoming trains stopped, the team, along with a dispatcher, climbed onto the track to speak to the woman, eventually persuading her to get back to the platform.

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Mr Strover said: "It’s not part of the job, but everyone kept their cool, reacted quickly and listened to instructions.

"We were all shaken up afterwards, but the fact she’s OK and getting the help she needs has been a huge morale boost for the team."

In response to the rescue, Northern issued the team with walkie talkies to expedite welfare concern communication at stations.

Tricia Williams, Northern’s managing director, and Jason Wade, regional director for Northern, met and personally thanked the heroic trio.

She said: "We’re incredibly proud of our team for going above and beyond to save someone from serious harm.

"Our staff frequently step in to help people in distress on the rail network and manage to react quickly and remain calm in incredibly stressful situations."

Anyone who is in distress, or knows someone who might be, can contact the Samaritans free at any time by calling 116 123, emailing jo@samaritans.org, or visiting their website.