Three heroic schoolboys aged 12, 13 and 14 saved a man who had a rope around his neck and was trying to jump off of a bridge.
The boys were on their way back from school at the time and they saved the man’s life while he stood on the edge of an A10 overpass in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire on September 21 last year.
Devonte Cafferkey, 13, and Sammy Farah, 14, rushed to grab the man and persuade him not to jump while their friend Shawn Young, who was 12 at the time, called for help.
The schoolboys are now set to be presented with national awards.
While they tried to stop the man jumping and talk him out of suicide, he passed the boys his mobile phone saying ‘if it rings, don’t answer it’.
The schoolboys later appeared on This Morning and spoke about the incident with hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
On the show, Devonte Cafferkey said: ‘Yeah we were the first to arrive. We were persuading him not to jump. He was crying and wiping his eyes. We said, “You’ve got family and stuff, it’s not worth it”.’
The boys were also helped by 47-year-old Joanne Stammers, who is registered disabled with Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome, a rare disability that makes her highly prone to blood clotting.
Despite her condition, which prevents her from working, Joanne took over from the boys and held onto the man ‘for what feels like forever’.
She was left with bruising all over her arms.
Another man, James Higlett, also helped to save the man’s life.
All five will receive awards from the Royal Humane Society, a charity promoting life-saving intervention.
