‘YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE ON MY WATCH’

Hero rescues would-be suicide victim on A500 bridge

BRAVE Clare Smith has told how she helped save a young mum who was threatening to jump off a bridge above the A500 in Stoke-ontrent.

The office manager, right,– who lost her own husband to suicide – ran to the woman’s aid after spotting her by railings in Porthill as she drove along the D-road to work.

The 49-year-old then grabbed hold of the woman and continued to talk to her before an ambulance arrived.

Clare said: “As soon as I saw her, I thought I’ve got to go and check this woman’s okay.

“She was really abusive at first, having a go at me saying ‘just leave me alone, I don’t want to talk to you, I just want to die, just let me die’.

“I said to her ‘you’re not going to die on my watch, if I’ve got to stand here all day with you, I’ll stand here all day with you’.

“I just related to her. I said, ‘if you go, just think about your children’. We just had a really good chat.”

While consoling the woman, Clare also signalled for help.

She added: “I was trying to alert traffic at the same time, because she wasn’t going to let go of these railings.

“There was a couple of young lads that pulled over in a work van. They came straight to help, but as soon as they approached this lady she just went hysterical.

“She just sobbed her heart out on my shoulder. The next minute the ambulance turned up.

“She was adamant she wasn’t going to go in at first, but I managed to persuade her.”

Clare added: “My husband committed suicide quite a few years ago. The children have grown up not knowing their dad.

“I’ve had a lot of years with lot of heartache. It brought back a lot of bad feelings to the point where I went and sat on my husband’s grave for an hour.”

Once the woman had calmed down, Clare was allowed into the ambulance – and was greeted far more warmly this time.

Clare said: “She gave me a massive hug and she said ‘can I thank you so much for saving my life? If it wasn’t for you, my children wouldn’t have a mother now’.”

West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed they were sent to the scene at 7.17am on March 18. A spokesman said: “One female patient was assessed once she had been brought to safety, and was taken to hospital for further assessment.”