Six brave school friends have been hailed as heroes after saving a suicidal teenager from jumping under a train by pulling him away from the edge of a station’s platform.
The group were waiting at Herne Bay station in Kent on Saturday when they noticed an 18-year-old man crying as he stood close to the edge of a platform.
Realising he was in distress, the teens rushed to the other platform and leapt on him as he was about to jump at around 9pm on Saturday.
The teenager’s mother has praised the group, aged between 15 and 17, saying: ‘Thank God they were there. They saved his life.’
There has been criticism of British Transport Police, however, after officers blamed wet weather for taking more than an hour to arrive at the scene.
Tia Hancock, 16, Chloe Skinsley, 16, Eleanor Wood, 15 and Madison Kendall, 15, together with two of their friends, helped stop a distressed man from taking his own life after they spotted him crying on the edge of Herne Bay train station’s platform
The plucky group were Madison Kendall, 15, Eleanor Wood, 15, Tia Hancock, 16, Chloe Skinsley, 16, Jack Williams, 17 and Kyle Pattison, 17.
Recalling the incident, Kyle told KentOnline: ‘I saw him standing by the line and something wasn’t right.
‘Then one of the girls said ‘he’s crying’ so we just dropped everything and ran down the stairs.
‘We ran through the underpass, up the other stairs, and pulled him away from the edge.’
But as the friends tried speaking to the young man, a train approached and he tried to jump into its path.
All six teens threw themselves on the man, fighting to restrain him until the train had passed, Jack saying it took ‘all their strength,’ to keep him on the platform.
Adults on the platform at Herne Bay station looked on as teenagers fought to keep the 18-year-old away from a passing train. Cab office staff called for help from police, but it took officers more than an hour to arrive on the scene
A number of adults were also on the platform at the time, but ‘just watched it all unfold’ without stepping in, say the young pals.
Chloe said: ‘We were all struggling to hold him back. They were just sitting there.’
Elaina O’Brien, 31, who works within the station grounds, was deeply moved by the group’s bravery.
She had been in her office at Abacus taxi firm when she heard the commotion and rushed outside.
Ms O’Brien said: ‘For a group of teenagers to come forth and do that, it can’t go unnoticed. It was really quick thinking.
‘If it wasn’t for their immediate reaction and courage, then that young boy would no longer be here.
‘There is so much bad stigma around these days about teenagers but if it wasn’t for these ones a life would have been lost.’
Praising the friends’ response, the young man’s mum said: ‘He’s just thankful he is still here, and very regretful and thankful for the teens and the taxi people in the office.’
Staff at Abacus sat with the young man in their office for some time after the incident – but after calling police at around 9pm, it took an hour to get a response.
British Transport Police (BTP) did not arrive at the scene until 10.17pm, by which time the young man and his mum had left after having waited for some time.
Cab office worker Elaina O’Brien stayed with the man and his mother for an hour after the incident, but they eventually left. His mother said her son was: ‘Thankful he is still here, and very regretful and thankful for the teens’
Ms O’Brien said: ‘It could have been so different. He could have been fighting me to get out of the office.’
A BTP spokesman said: ‘The man was safely in the taxi office at the time of the report and the nearest available BTP unit was dispatched.
‘But due to the heavy winds and rain, the journey took longer than it would usually.
‘Officers arrived at the station as quickly as they were able to get there safely and made contact with the man’s family who had picked him up earlier.
‘An intelligence report into the incident was submitted.’
If you are struggling, please contact Samaritans on 116 123 or visit their website samaritans.org.