FOUR brave police officers who risked their lives after a man threatened to jump off an M53 bridge have been nominated for a national bravery award,

Sergeant Mark Woollam, PC Derek Morgan, PC Chris Francis and PC Jake Connolly from Cheshire Police were called to a bridge on M53 following a call from a man who needed help and was at risk of harming himself.

On arrival the officers found the man on the wrong side of the railings, directly over the M53.

The motorway was then immediately closed but the man refused to speak with officers.

Sgt Woollam was forced to grab hold of the man to stop him falling while PC Morgan supported him, waiting for the fire service to arrive.

However the man started to slip off the ledge and was then hanging from the bridge.

PCs Francis and Connolly grabbed onto the man as he continued to slip - at one point both his feet and back were hanging over the motorway while officers supported his body weight.

They decided that there was no time to wait for the fire service and PC Francis and Sgt Woollam removed their body armour so that they could lean further over the railings to get a better grip og him.

They then managed to wrestle the man over the railings to safety before taking him to hospital.

The man became extremely close to falling from the bridge where he could have suffered serious or fatal injuries.

Now, the four officers are up for a national Police Bravery Award.

Held by the Police Federation of England and Wales, the awards aim to honour and recognise police officers who have performed 'outstanding' acts of bravery while on or off duty.

The awards ceremony will take place on July 12.