A POLICE dog-handler who grabbed a man about to jump from a motorway bridge has been praised.

PC Dave Robinson, 38, saw the man was about to leap 25ft to the road, but managed to put his arms around the heavily built 21-yearold.

He then dragged the man back over the 4ft-high barrier and, as they fell to the ground, handcuffed the struggling man.

The un-named man, from the Ferryhill area of County Durham, was arrested under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital in Durham City.

PC Robinson, a dog-handler for the north of the county, was on patrol on Tuesday night with his dogs Zac and Hamish, and Elvis – a tenmonth- old puppy undergoing training – when he received a call to go to the A1(M) Carrville junction near Durham City, where a man was on the wrong side of the bridge railings.

As PC Robinson approached, he saw a figure in dark clothing with his heels supported by only a few inches of concrete and his arms holding the railings behind him.

He parked and as he got to within a few feet, the man turned to face him before letting go of the barrier.

PC Robinson ran forward and grabbed the man.

PC Robinson, who has been with the force for ten years, said: “When the gent has gone to hospital, he has been appreciative of our efforts.

It is nice to know he was thankful to have his life.

“I was so close to him it was a gut reaction and I grabbed hold of him.

Whether he could have taken me with him I do not know. It could have gone particularly wrong for people on the motorway if he had fallen.

“Any police officer in the same situation would have done the same thing. Savings lives is why we do the job.”

Inspector Paul Anderson said: “He showed bravery and quickthinking to stop the man from jumping – his actions also preventing any danger to those who were driving on the motorway.”