A WOMAN who threatened to jump off a M53 motorway bridge was saved by passers-by and a police sergeant this weekend.

Emergency services were called at around 12.20am on Sunday, September 23 after receiving reports of a woman on the wrong side of the railings on an M53 bridge.

Members of the public held onto the woman until police officers arrived.

One of the first on scene was a police sergeant who climbed the barrier to talk to the woman and encourage her back to safety.

He was supported by passers-by who held onto him as he tried to persuade the woman to return to the other side of the railings.

Around half an hour later, the woman climbed over the barriers to safety and was taken to hospital by paramedics.

The M53 was closed during the incident and reopened at 12.47am.

Now officers are thanking the public for their help.

Assistant chief constable Julie Cooke, said: "I would like to praise the members of the public and the police sergeant who bravely stepped in to help a member of the public who was obviously in some distress.

"Our officers never know what they are going to face when they come in to work and when he first climbed over that railing with traffic driving below on the motorway it must have nerve wracking.

"Following the incident a couple of members of the public said they wanted his bravery to be commended and to them, I can say that we are very proud of our officers and the work they do to keep our communities safe."