Cheshire Police Federation Bravery Awards

Two officers who pulled a teenage girl off the wrong side of a road bridge, saving her life, have received Cheshire Police Federation Bravery Awards.

At 3pm on 12th November 2024, PC Ricki Gray responded to a call that a distressed 15-year-old girl was on the wrong side of the railings of a bridge over an A Road in the Chester area and threatening to jump.

 The road below was busy, with traffic travelling at 70mph.

PC Gray recalled:

“As soon as I got there, the girl threw her phone towards me. I picked it up and I could hear Childline on the other end. I tried to engage with the girl, but it was difficult because she didn’t want to engage with me. I pleaded with her to come back over onto the right side: this continued for maybe a minute and a half.”

He was then joined by PC Phil Davies, who is a street triage officer.

PC Davies recalled:

“It was immediately apparent that the girl was in an extremely dangerous position. I approached the scene to support Ricki and I explained to the girl that, as well as being a police officer, I specialise in helping people who might be having mental health struggles.

“But she didn’t seem to want to engage. She seemed more interested in potentially letting go and taking her own life.”

PC Gray said:

“Phil and I could see her intentions: that she wasn’t going to change her mind. We looked at each other, and sort of agreed what our actions would be without even saying a word. We knew there was no other option: we needed to move and we needed to move fast.”

The girl was continuously checking below her and moving her feet, to the point where she only had her toes on the edge. Then she suddenly let go of one hand.

PC Gray recalled:

“It was at this point that Phil and I both lunged. I grabbed her underneath one arm, he did the same, we both grabbed her clothes, and within the blink of an eye we’d managed to pull her back onto the right side of the bridge.

“We then held her on the floor to prevent her getting up and running away, or trying to cause more harm to herself.”

PC Davies decided that the girl needed help and consulted with the girl’s mother and a doctor from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), before detaining the girl. The officers took the girl to the Countess of Chester Hospital for assessment before she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and provided with the help she needed.

PC Gray said:

“Afterwards, Phil and I spoke and were both in agreement: if we hadn’t have acted when we did, potentially it would have ended in a different way, the worst way possible, instead of a phone call to say, ‘She’s safe, she’s in hospital, she’s going to get the help she needs’.”

When he heard they were both receiving Cheshire Police Federation Bravery Awards, PC Gray said: “I was quite shocked, to be honest. It was just another day in the job and it’s something that I knew I had to do.”

PC Davies added:

“Response officers do things that are equally, if not more, brave every single day of their career. It might not be as dramatic as the situation we found ourselves in, but officers who are engaged in frontline policing all demonstrate bravery in one way or another, probably every single shift. For me to be singled out, while I’m obviously happy and appreciate it, I think everybody should have that recognition.”

Cheshire Police Federation Chair Jamie Thompson said:

“We work with absolute heroes in Cheshire and Ricki and Phil are top of that list.

“They both acted quickly and decisively that day - and their actions undoubtedly saved the girl’s life. They showed compassion and care for the girl and we are all proud of the courage they demonstrated that day.

“Huge congratulations to them both on their Awards.”

 PC Gray and PC Davies will attend the 2025 Cheshire Police Federation Bravery Awards on 20 March. At the event an overall winner or team will be announced, who will travel to London for the National Police Federation Bravery Awards in July.

The Cheshire Police Federation Bravery Awards are in association with Axon.

 Also sponsoring the awards are Slater Gordon, Police Mortgages, The National Police Healthcare Scheme, No 1 Copperpot Credit Union, Niche, Philip Williams Insurance, Uniform Mortgages, Accord, Ralli Injury Lawyers and The Cheshire Police Group Insurance Scheme.

 If you are affected by this story, please contact the Samaritans: 

https://www.samaritans.org/

Pictured - PC Phil Davies, who is a street triage officer.