Manchester mum praises hero lorry driver who stopped her son from jumping off M62 bridge

The mother of the man who was stopped from jumping off a motorway bridge by a parked lorry has hailed the driver as a “Godsend”.

The anonymous person behind the wheel was widely praised for their heroic behaviour last week when they spotted a man perched on the edge of an M62 flyover – and quickly pulled the vehicle up underneath him.

Parking the lorry directly below the bridge stopped the 28-year-old from leaping – and he was eventually escorted down safely.

The mother said she only became aware of what had happened after seeing the images of the incident circulating on Facebook.

The 56-year-old mum, who is from Manchester, told Yorkshire Live: “I kept looking at it and I thought, ‘I’m sure that is my son’.

“The picture got sent to me and it was circulated around and I could tell it was him by the way he was sat and the clothes he had on.

“I’d seen him earlier that day and he was his normal self.

“Looking back, all I can think to myself is, ‘oh my God, that could’ve been the last I saw him’.

“Before he left, he turned round to me and said, ‘see you mum, I love you’ and I said it back but that could’ve been the last time.”

The mother added that her son is now “getting help”, but wanted to express her gratitude to the lorry driver who “saved his life”.

“At the moment, my son has a lot of problems. He has a lot of worries and I’m just grateful that the driver’s stopped him doing that and I can’t express how grateful I am that he did stop,” she stated.

“It could have been a very different story and I don’t like to imagine that. I just want to get that message out there to thank the driver for everything he has done as he was a godsend that day.”

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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.

These include:

• 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 Mon – Fri 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: info@andysmanclub.co.uk.
• 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 to 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.

Featured Image – Vulnerable Citizen Support Leeds