A HERO policeman today recalled how he saved the life of a suicidal man who tried to jump to his death from a motorway bridge.

Off-duty Sergeant Neil Persechino, 38, stretched over the railings with his feet off the ground to grab the man just as he let go of a ledge above the M65.

Sgt Persechino, who is 6ft 5ins tall and weighs 16st, clung on to the railing above the M65 bridge in Altham with his left hand as his other clasped the man's right cuff.

He was in danger of plummeting 30ft into the middle lane of the motorway during the incident at 2pm on Sunday.

Today, as he returned to the scene and relived his actions, he said: "He was struggling all the time and was saying he didn't want help. Hopefully in time he will be grateful."

PC Neil Sutton, who was on duty, and a passer-by help avert a double tragedy by helping Mr Persechino to pull the man to safety. Sgt Persechino added: "It seems stupid now and I can't imagine having done it but I couldn't not have helped. I couldn't forgive myself if he had died and I had driven past.

"We are here to help people and, even though I was off-duty, all my training clicked in. I didn't think about anything, it was spontaneous.

"At one point he was leaning back over the motorway in a squat position with his hands holding the railings. Then he was just holding on by his fingertips and he was dangling over the middle lane of the motorway.

"I knew I had to take some positive action. At that point he let go of the ledge and I just grabbed his cuff. He was of slight build and I managed to hold on. The others came and we managed to drag him to safety."

The brave officer, a dog handler based at Accrington police station, was driving up Altham Lane when he spotted the man sitting on the ledge with a rope tied around his neck.

He parked around the corner, leaving his two daughters - aged nine and 13 - there with strict warnings not to watch what he was about to do and phoned the police.

Sgt Persechino, an officer for 18 years who lives in Langho, said: "He was drinking neat vodka and kept saying 'don't come near or I will jump'. Slowly I gained his trust by talking to him and listening to him. He kept breaking down and crying.

"All the time I was talking to him I was edging closer to him so he didn't realise. He was telling me about a broken relationship and how he had problems and she had been helping him through it.

"Because they had split up he couldn't see a future. I was telling him it wasn't worth dying for."

Inspector Chris Hayhurst, Sgt Persechino's boss, said: "The actions of Both officers, one of whom was off-duty, demonstrated extreme bravery and courage, putting their own lives at risk in danger to avert what would have been a certain tragedy. We are extremely proud of both officers."

The man was taken to the custody suite of Greenbank police station and detained under the Mental Health Act.