A woman who “acted on instinct” and managed to talk a vulnerable young girl down from a bridge has been recognised for her bravery.
Caroline Bolton – who works in the Child Protection Investigation Unit at Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) South Manchester division – saved the life of a 17-year-old girl she found on the edge of a bridge above a motorway in Salford back in February of this year.
The young girl wanted to end her life, but Caroline – who was off duty at the time, and on her way home after a shift – spent 20 minutes talking to her and reassuring her.
And when the girl agreed to step down from the bridge, Caroline showed true selflessness and bravery “without any regard for her own safety” to put her arms around the teen to help her get back over the railings safely.
Caroline says she’s “surprised” to have been recognised for her actions, but GMP insisted that they “truly believe she made a brave decision which saved the life of a member of the public.”
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#NEWS | GMP Staff who talked a young girl down from a bridge is recognised for her bravery.
A civilian member of staff has been recognised for her selflessness as she saved the life of a girl she found on a bridge above a motorway in February.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 7, 2023
“I’m so surprised to have been recognised for this because I know so many of my colleagues deal with incidents like this every single day,” Caroline explained.
“It was a really difficult situation and seeing her so distraught just broke my heart.
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“The girl was getting closer to the edge, and I knew I had to act to help her, so I just went into autopilot. She wasn’t much younger than my boys, so I just spoke to her like a mum [and] when she got back over the railings, she gave me the biggest hug and I remember the sigh of relief from us both when we knew she was safe.”
Caroline said her main priority was to let the young girl know “she wasn’t in any trouble” and that “she was going to be okay”.
“There are options available out there for people who are struggling,” she added.
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Woman who talked young girl down from bridge recognised for bravery / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Speaking on Caroline’s recognition, and praising her for her bravery, GMP Chief Superintendent Rick Jackson said: “Caroline’s compassion and immediate response to a challenging situation has ultimately saved the life of a young girl in crisis. She was off duty at the time, she isn’t a trained police officer or negotiator, but Caroline acted with incredible calmness, professionalism, and integrity as a member of Greater Manchester Police staff.
“Caroline acted on instinct, and I truly believe she made a brave decision which saved the life of a member of the public.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Are you struggling with your mental health?
If you or anyone you know is struggling right now, please know that you are never alone and there are many different places you can reach out to for support right here in Greater Manchester.
Suffering in silence never need be the way.
Manchester Mind – An organisation that has supported people in Manchester for over 30 years. Most services are now available over the phone, by email or video call. The number is 0161 769 5732 and the opening hours are Monday – Friday, 10am -2pm.
The GM Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust – The local NHS helpline is open 24/7 which you can call any time, day or night, if you feel your mental health is beginning to suffer: 0800 953 0285.
Andy’s Man Club – A group dedicated to starting conversations about mental health, assuring people that it’s ok to talk. You can contact them by email on: [email protected].
CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably supports people via phone and webchat. You can call 0800 58 58 58 or speak to a support worker online. Open 5pm – midnight.
Samaritans – The Manchester & Salford Samaritans offer emotional support by telephone and email. The phone lines and email support are available 24/7. Call 116 123 or visit the website.
News
Every Greater Manchester borough to get 24-7 night bus services as part of Bee Network improvements
Emily Sergeant
Every borough of Greater Manchester is set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy.
Widespread improvements are coming to bus services across the whole region are coming later this year, as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has today (Thursday 18 March) announced 36 service changes in total – many of which are said to be the ‘most significant’ and ‘wide-ranging’ upgrades the Bee Network has seen since bus franchising was completed early last year.
The announcement comes after the Mayor gave a major update yesterday on plans to deliver a ‘decade of good growth’ in Greater Manchester, backed by at least £500 million of investment from the National Wealth Fund, taking the GM Good Growth Fund to almost £2 billion.
The Bee Network insists this raft of new changes have ‘only been made possible’ by bringing buses back under local control.
As mentioned, the most major improvement is set to be the introduction 24-hour night buses throughout Greater Manchester – with five new night buses launched to bring a 24-hour service to parts of the region that haven’t previously had them, like Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford.
Every Greater Manchester borough is set to get 24-7 night bus services / Credit: TfGM
It’s hoped around 625,400 people in jobs that operate late into the night, as well as those enjoying everything the region’s nightlife has to offer, can get home safely.
Some of the other changes announced include a selection of brand-new bus services, more frequent buses during the day and at the weekends, and overall better connections to key employment and leisure destinations like Manchester Airport, Trafford Centre, MediaCity, Middlebrook Retail Park, Kingsway Business Park, and Logistics North.
“These changes will benefit people right across Greater Manchester,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham.
“They have come about as a direct result of your feedback and support for the Bee Network and have been made possible by the decision we took to bring our buses back under local control.
“By expanding Bee Network night buses to every borough, and providing more frequent services to key employment locations, we are creating more ways for people to access jobs and opportunities across the region.
“This is just the start. As we continue to lead the way on economic growth, so will we continue to lead the way on transforming the Bee Network, setting us up for another decade of good growth so that everyone in Greater Manchester can live a good life.”
Featured Image – TfGM
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‘Deeply worrying’ figures reveal one in seven NHS staff were physically attacked last year
Emily Sergeant
The NHS is ‘deeply worried’ after figures revealed one in seven staff were attacked by a patient or member of the public last year.
According to the latest NHS staff survey, 14.47% – which works out to almost one in seven staff members – were physically attacked by a patient or the public in the last year, which sadly works out to be the highest rate for three years.
On top of this, the shocking statistics also saw a record percentage of staff say they were subjected to ‘unwanted’ sexual behaviour, rising steeply to almost one in three ambulance staff (31%).
It also found that nearly one in 10 staff (9.26%) said they were subjected to discrimination from patients and the public, which is the highest on record.
The 2025 NHS Staff Survey results are now published.
Thank you to all NHS staff who took the time to share their experiences.
The survey helps us understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made.
Presumably because of figures like this, the survey revealed that the number of staff who would recommend their workplace to others fell slightly to 58.05% in 2025, which is down from 60.79% last year in 2024.
“These figures paint a deeply worrying picture of the abuse our hardworking NHS staff face,” commented Danny Mortimer, who is the Director General (People) for NHS England.
“Staff safety and wellbeing is paramount, and we want everyone experiencing any kind of unwanted incident to feel confident enough to report it. But while that behaviour is completely unacceptable, we must look at what more we can do to support the people who keep our services running.
‘Deeply worrying’ figures reveal that one in seven NHS staff were physically attacked last year / Credit: rawpixel
“We know about the everyday pressures staff face and we haven’t moved fast enough to fix them.
“Staff have worked so hard to improve NHS performance and deliver care over winter as shown in the latest performance figures. These survey results show it is now for the NHS to deliver improvements for staff because there is so much more to do to make the NHS a better place to work.”
However, despite all of this, an overwhelming 87.78% of respondents did say they felt their job ‘made a difference’ to patients.
As mentioned, all of these statistics have been revealed as part of the latest NHS staff survey, where more than 766,000 workers in England responded – providing what is said to be ‘vital data’ for employers and stakeholders about the staff experience.
Emily Sergeant -
8th June 2023 
