Hero PC's bravery during cathedral rescue

Neville Waller had to climb over the fence onto a ledge to grab the 19-year-old as she knelt to say a prayer before killing herself.

His bravery, last May, in helping to bring the student safely from the top ledge of the cathedral's central tower has earned him an official bravery commendation. PC Waller, 38, a former soldier with less than two years experience in the force, was among a group of officers who responded to the call from cathedral staff.

They had spotted the woman standing on the pinnacle of the tower, 218ft above the ground.

PC Waller was the first to scale the 325-step stone staircase leading to the top of the tower.

He said: "The girl had climbed over a spiked metal fence about 5ft high and was kneeling, frozen, in what looked like a praying position.

"She was leaning over a low wall, about 18in high. It was all that was between her and a sheer drop.

"She was crying and looked very distressed. I tried to talk to her, but she looked at me only once and turned to look back at the ground below."

But when she turned away, PC Waller made his move to attempt to pull her from danger.

As the two struggled, other officers dashed forward to stop them both toppling over the wall.

PC Waller added: "As I took hold of her, my colleague, Jim Davison, joined me, and together we managed to pull her back from the edge.

"With the help of the two remaining officers, Andrew Nicholson and Samantha Scott, we got her back over the railings."

The girl, who was a student at Durham University, offered no resistance and was taken into custody under the Mental Health Act.

Notes later found in her diary suggested she was planning to jump to her death.

Durham Chief Constable Paul Garvin said: "PC Waller's actions, to a certain knowledge, put him in grave physical danger.

"Yet they were undertaken in a calculated and mature manner as the only method of ensuring the safety of a young woman."