Police officer stops suicidal woman jumping off cliff by grabbing her hair

Police are attempting to trace a man who helped to say thank you

A woman was stopped from plummeting to her death from a cliff by a quick-thinking police officer who grabbed her hair.

Pc Jeanette Cadden was holding a beat surgery on Saturday evening when she spotted the woman in the Avon Gorge, Bristol.

The woman had climbed over the fence and was on the cliff edge when Pc Cadden managed to grab her hair and stop her falling hundreds of feet.

A man who was passing with his girlfriend saw Pc Cadden struggling to keep hold of the woman and came to her assistance, helping to pull the woman back over the fence.

Police are trying to trace the man to issue a proper thank you.

Pc Cadden, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "I managed to get to the woman just in time and stop her from falling but had the man not come to help me, I physically would not have been able to pull the woman back over the fence to safety and she may have lost her life.

"He told me his name was Paul and he was from the Totterdown area of Bristol and was out on an evening stroll with his partner.

"I would really like to give a proper thanks to someone who acted quickly and without thought to help me and ultimately save this woman's life."

Press Association