Stranger standing on a road bridge ..

[willowcatkin111]

.. in the middle of the night - what do you do, stop, call the police or ignore?

Call the police

Why are you asking ?

Police.

Is this a poll thread?

Call the police.

I agree with Euphemia - there's a lot of different ways to be standing on a bridge to be fair - could be waiting for someone, or just out for a breath of air, etc.

I called the police once when I saw a bloke walking against the traffic on Barton Bridge (the M60)

Terrifying. I hope he was ok

Depends on the exact situation, bus yes definitely call the police

You never know but that the police might be actively looking for someone in any case.

Happened to me the other day - a person just standing on the bridge leaning over a motorway and there for quite a while; I was unsure how to react.
What is a poll thread?

Call the police, and I have done

I stood on the bridge over the m62 at Scammonden once and the police came to check I was alright. I was taking a long-exposure photo of the traffic looking towards the reservoir.

Quote me - that bridge is notorious for suicidal people. It's awful :(

I know it is now, but I didn't at the time. I think they've put signs up now with the phone number for the Samaritans. I thought it was good and quite reassuring that someone had noticed and cared enough to take the time to call.

I'd ring the police. Would rather the police attended unnecessarily than someone lost their life.

I discovered recently that an old friend of mine jumped from a railway bridge a year ago, she was seen in that area looking sad and frantic for 2 hours, people saw her there...if only one of them had called the police, things may have turned out so differently. :(

I'd always rather police attend to someone like Quoteme for being up there taking photos, than anything else...

I did nothing - my take is that if someone's life is so bad they want to end it, who am I to interfere.
Dh on the other hand (told him when I got home) went back to check and said two people had stopped and were talking to him, then the police turned up and took him away.

Willow, you were wrong. If someone's life is that bad, they need help. A simple act of kindness, a helping hand, a voice in the dark. I know, I have tried to commit suicide.

Willow, that is a horrible attitude

Why bother helping anybody, any time then ?

Cancel all MH support services right now !

I would like to think that someone who has got to the point of ending their life, but who has been saved before they had the chance, could go on to get the help and support they needed to improve their circumstances and be happier. I'd be thinking of the people they would leave behind - partners and children perhaps - and of how they'd feel knowing or thinking that no-one tried to help.

Willow, that is a horrible attitude

It's not. It's a valid point of view. People have the right to self determination, and that includes determining to end their own life.

If in doubt, be kind. A call to the Police would have taken you moments. Well done your DH and those 2 people who stepped up to check.

People like LuLu who posted above, for instance.

I did nothing - my take is that if someone's life is so bad they want to end it, who am I to interfere.

Fucking hell. Do you think people with depressing can never recover?

My friend jumped in front of a train in the midst of a depressive episode. I really wish someone had called the police before she did that.