A GOOD Samaritan who stepped in to help persuade a man not to jump off a motorway bridge is to be personally thanked by a police chief.

The Rev Norman Price, from St Thomas' Church, Musbury, Helmshore, was tracked down after an appeal in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph for him to come forward.

He has now been invited to attend Burnley police station on Monday when he will be personally thanked by Chief Supt John Knowles.

Mr Price was driving along Helmshore Road in Flaxmoss, Haslingden, when he spotted the man threatening to throw himself from the bridge over the Haslingden A56 by-pass last October.

PC Justin Fraser, 29, from Rawtenstall, was dealing with the man alone because other officers in the Rossendale Valley were attending other incidents at the same time.

Together the pair managed to calm the man and stop him carrying out his threat.

PC Fraser said: "He was the wrong side of the safety railings screaming and shouting and I was there on my own. He wouldn't let me near.

"It was quite scary and I didn't know what to do because I have never dealt with anything like that before."

PC Fraser was awarded a Chief Constable's Commendation from Pennine police divisional Chief Superintendent John Knowles following the rescue.

But the officer was concerned that the "mystery clergyman" who had stopped his car and pulled over to help did not receive any recognition for his part in the incident and he launched a search to track him down.

Rev Price, who helped talk to the suicidal man and persuade him to return to the pavement, came forward following our appeal, but today said he was too ill to speak about the incident.