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News Desk

Man died after walking onto M60 into path of lorry, inquest hears

An inquest has opened into a man who died after walking onto the M60 motorway into the path of a lorry.

Jan Kocurek, 45, was seen on CCTV accessing the motorway near junction 17, close to Whitefield and Prestwich, at 11am on Saturday, April 24.

He then walked into the traffic from the hard shoulder, an inquest opening at Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard.

A Ford Transit was travelling clockwise passing under the bridge of Bury New Road when it collided with him in lane two. A lorry then hit joiner Mr Kocurek in lane one.

The motorway was closed from around 11.30am until around 6pm[1] after the crash, with the air ambulance landing at the scene.

READ MORE: ‘Why did you drive away?’: Driver who left grandad to die spared jail[2]

Married Mr Kocurek, of Berkley Court, Bury Old Road, Salford, was critically ill in Salford Royal Hospital until June 4 when he died.

Assistant coroner for Manchester North, Julie Robertson, adjourned the hearing until January 18 next year but said the the evidence would be reviewed on October 11.

The air ambulance leaving the scene

That evidence would include an overview from Mr Kocurek’s GP, mental health services and a post mortem examination report, she said.

Following the announcement of Mr Kocurek’s death, police appealed for anyone who witnessed the collision to come forward.

Sergeant Andrew Page, from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Despite the best efforts from hospital staff to save his life, Jan sadly passed away and our thoughts are with his family who are understandably devastated.

“We’ve been carrying out a number of enquiries since this collision happened and we’re continuing to ask any witnesses to come forward with information that may assist us with our investigation.

“Anyone who may have seen the collision, has dash-cam footage or perhaps saw the man prior to the collision is asked to call 0161 856 4741.

“Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Helplines and websites

Samaritans (116 123) samaritans.org operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at [email protected][3] , write to Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA and visit www.samaritans.org/branches to find your nearest branch.

For support for people feeling suicidal, if you are concerned about someone or if you are bereaved by suicide see http://shiningalightonsuicide.org.uk[4]

CALM (0800 58 58 58) thecalmzone.net has a helpline is for men who are down or have hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support. They’re open 5pm to midnight, 365 days a year.

Greater Manchester Bereavement Service Greater Manchester Bereavement Service can help to find support for anyone in Greater Manchester that has been bereaved or affected by a death. No one needs to feel alone as they deal with their grief. www.greater-manchester-bereavement-service.org.uk[5]

Childline (0800 1111 ) runs a helpline for children and young people in the UK. Calls are free and the number won’t show up on your phone bill.

PAPYRUS (0800 068 41 41) is a voluntary organisation supporting teenagers and young adults who are feeling suicidal.

Beat Eating Disorders: Beat provides helplines for adults and young people offering support and information about eating disorders. These helplines are free to call from all phones. Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677, Studentline: 0808 801 0811, Youthline: 0808 801 0711. www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk[6]

Anorexia & Bulimia Care: ABC provide on-going care, emotional support and practical guidance for anyone affected by eating disorders, those struggling personally and parents, families and friends. Helpline: 03000 11 12 13. www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/[7]

Students Against Depression is a website for students who are depressed, have a low mood or are having suicidal thoughts. Bullying UK is a website for both children and adults affected by bullying studentsagainstdepression.org[8]

For information and links to charities and organisations that can help with substance abuse, visit https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/drugs/[9]

References

  1. ^ motorway was closed from around 11.30am until around 6pm (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  2. ^ ‘Why did you drive away?’: Driver who left grandad to die spared jail (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  3. ^ [email protected] (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  4. ^ http://shiningalightonsuicide.org.uk (t.co)
  5. ^ www.greater-manchester-bereavement-service.org.uk (www.greater-manchester-bereavement-service.org.uk)
  6. ^ www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk (www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk)
  7. ^ www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/ (www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk)
  8. ^ studentsagainstdepression.org (www.google.com)
  9. ^ https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/drugs/ (www.supportline.org.uk)

News Desk

This is why ew Sheffield railhead is trucking boss’s crown achievement

It saw total victory for the Sheffield haulier, which grew with the popularity of road transport, while the giant rail depot withered with the decline of the steel industry and died.

But the story has a twist.

For the trucking firm has just spent £3m reviving the railhead. And co-founder Frank Newell say it’s his crowning achievement.

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Tinsley Marshalling Yards circa 1965. It had 32 marshalling lanes.Tinsley Marshalling Yards circa 1965. It had 32 marshalling lanes.

Tinsley Marshalling Yards circa 1965. It had 32 marshalling lanes.

Over just seven weeks earlier this year, the company laid out three acres of concrete and 700 yards of track and reconnected the yard to the rail network.

Today it is home to more than 800 shipping containers and receives two 34-wagon freight trains a day from the port of Felixstowe.

The service saves up to 400,000 road miles a week, cutting lorry pollution and congestion, and is already close to its 1,000 container capacity.

Frank, aged 69, said its popularity was a relief.

Frank Newell. Picture Scott MerryleesFrank Newell. Picture Scott Merrylees
Frank Newell. Picture Scott Merrylees

“It was a very big commitment for us as a family business. I’ve been in business for 50 years and have always taken educated gambles. You get to the stage where you have to play forward and do it.

“It’s the best thing I have done. I’m so proud of what we have achieved.”

A mechanic by trade, his youngest son, Anthony, aged 17, is employed in the workshop ‘on the spanners’ learning lorry maintenance.

Sons Stephen, 43, and John, 49, also worked their way up.

The site can store 1,000 containers.The site can store 1,000 containers.
The site can store 1,000 containers.

Frank added: “Going through the ranks gives them a good insight.”

He started with one lorry in 1971 and, with Paul Wright, built the firm into a £50m-a-year business that employs 300.

It is one of just a handful of road hauliers that have moved into rail and Tinsley is the only operation of its type in South Yorkshire, it is claimed.

Stephen said growing concerns about climate change led the firm to move fast.

Unloading the train with a £500,000 box stacker.Unloading the train with a £500,000 box stacker.
Unloading the train with a £500,000 box stacker.

“You have to be careful you don’t get left behind,” he added.

Containers are mostly from China and India and hold everything from patio slabs to clothing to car parts. But they do not have high value items like iPhones or ‘high consequence products’ like fireworks.

About 55 can fit on a train and they are unloaded by four £500,000 ‘box stackers’, including one which runs on hydrogenated vegetable oil, a green fuel.

Containers are taken to their final destination by lorry, some 80 a day in a 24-hour operation.

Stephen said they had used local suppliers, with concrete from Cemex in Attercliffe, reinforcing from BRC in Barnsley and ballast from Aggregate Industries’ quarry in Buxton.

The site is owned by Network Rail and leased to Newell & Wright for 35 years, with a reduction on rent because it is a brownfield site, he added.

Aerial view of Tinsley Marshalling Yards, Sheffield, December 1987.Aerial view of Tinsley Marshalling Yards, Sheffield, December 1987.
Aerial view of Tinsley Marshalling Yards, Sheffield, December 1987.

Its success meant they planned to add two more services, with freight trainers from Southampton and London Gateway on the Suffolk coast.

A second phase of expansion could see a similar-sized platform and storage area built to the south, closer to the bridge over the Parkway, near Junction 33 of the M1.

A third phase could use land to the north, close to two large warehouses that were built on what was the widest part of the marshalling yard.

In 1961, a tenth of the rail-borne freight in Britain originated in the Sheffield district. Tinsley Marshalling Yard was opened by the infamous Dr Richard Beeching in 1965 to serve the steel industry. At its height it handled 200 locomotives and 3,000 wagons a day.

But within a few short years it was hit by competition from road and closed in stages from 1985.

Duncan Clark, of Newell and Wright, said part of the site was cut out of rock and part was electrified, receiving electric trains from Manchester that came through the now closed Woodhead tunnel.

The yard was disused and disconnected from the rail network when Newell and Wright took it on. A new link was laid to the north connecting to a local line near Shepcote junction and then on to Rotherham station, Doncaster and the East Coast Mainline.

The company hopes to connect the site from the south providing a simpler and more direct route into the network, he added.

Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts said the company’s achievement was ‘fantastic’ and he would speak to the mayor of South Yorkshire and Department of Transport about providing financial backing.

He added: “I think what they have done is incredible and what they want to do is fantastic. It’s really rising to the climate challenge.

“I will be speaking to the mayor about how we can engage, this is a really important part of local infrastructure and should benefit a lot of firms.

“It’s also of national significance and I’ll be speaking to the Department of Transport about providing some sort of financial backing and support.

“There have been various plans over the years to reopen the yard but these guys have done it.”

Kevin Newman, senior route freight manager for Network Rail, hailed the site as part of the ‘vital role that freight has played in the country’s response to the Covid pandemic and how important it is to the recovery of the economy’.

“Reopening routes, expanding services and gaining new freight customers, as well as running longer, heavier trains, is helping to get more HGVs off the road.”

Newell & Wright Transport was formed in 1974 by Frank Newell and Paul Wright. At that time it was a ‘very small general haulage company’ operating from rented premises.

Over the years it grew and moved to larger sites three times before setting up, in 1987, on its current 6.5 acre freehold site at Tinsley.

Local journalism holds the powerful to account and gives people a voice. Please take out a digital subscription[1] or buy a paper.

Thank you. Nancy Fielder, editor.

A freight train from the port of Felixstowe arrives at Tinsley Marshalling Yard. Picture Scott MerryleesA freight train from the port of Felixstowe arrives at Tinsley Marshalling Yard. Picture Scott Merrylees
A freight train from the port of Felixstowe arrives at Tinsley Marshalling Yard. Picture Scott Merrylees
Three acres of concrete were laid to make the site.Three acres of concrete were laid to make the site.
Three acres of concrete were laid to make the site.
Frank Newell at Tinsley Marshalling Yards.Frank Newell at Tinsley Marshalling Yards.
Frank Newell at Tinsley Marshalling Yards.
From left: MP Clive Betts and Stephen and Frank Newell have their picture taken as a train arrives.From left: MP Clive Betts and Stephen and Frank Newell have their picture taken as a train arrives.
From left: MP Clive Betts and Stephen and Frank Newell have their picture taken as a train arrives.

References

  1. ^ digital subscription (www.thestar.co.uk)

News Desk

‘I’m no hero’, says M62 trucker who helped save man on motorway

The truck driver hailed a hero[1] after parking his vehicle under a bridge on the M62[2] to stop a man from jumping has said ‘I’m not the hero of this story’.

Tom Birkett, 35, received praise from across the nation[3] after a picture showing his truck trailer parked directly underneath the man sat on the edge of the bridge went viral.

The man’s mother, who did not wish to be named, has since spoken out to let Tom know how grateful she is[4] as she is convinced he saved her son, who had been struggling with his mental health. She also said that he is now receiving help.

But Tom’s refuses to believe he is a hero, instead praising the police for the way they handled the situation.

READ MORE: Greater Manchester’s latest coronavirus infection rates[5]

Speaking to Leeds Live[6], the husband and father of three said: “All I did was park the truck under the bridge.

“This is something that the police and charities are deal with. I got an opportunity to do my little bit but it was 0.01 per cent of what other people did.

“I basically figured out something I could do, I did my good deed for the day. The police are the ones that saved him.

“I’m not the hero of this story, I’m happy with being called a Good Samaritan.”

Recalling how the events unfolded, Tom said spotted three people on the bridge from a distance and felt that “something was not right”.

As he got closer, he noticed that one person was on the wrong side of the bars and saw his legs dangling off the bridge.

Tom, from Kendal, Cumbria, quickly moved into the hard shoulder and put on his hazard lights to alert other road users.

After parking the trailer which has a soft top, he let officers who were at the scene know what he had done.

Helplines and websites

Samaritans (116 123) samaritans.org operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at [email protected][7] , write to Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA and visit www.samaritans.org/branches to find your nearest branch.

For support for people feeling suicidal, if you are concerned about someone or if you are bereaved by suicide see http://shiningalightonsuicide.org.uk[8]

CALM (0800 58 58 58) thecalmzone.net has a helpline is for men who are down or have hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support. They’re open 5pm to midnight, 365 days a year.

Greater Manchester Bereavement Service Greater Manchester Bereavement Service can help to find support for anyone in Greater Manchester that has been bereaved or affected by a death. No one needs to feel alone as they deal with their grief. www.greater-manchester-bereavement-service.org.uk[9]

Childline (0800 1111 ) runs a helpline for children and young people in the UK. Calls are free and the number won’t show up on your phone bill.

PAPYRUS (0800 068 41 41) is a voluntary organisation supporting teenagers and young adults who are feeling suicidal.

Beat Eating Disorders: Beat provides helplines for adults and young people offering support and information about eating disorders. These helplines are free to call from all phones. Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677, Studentline: 0808 801 0811, Youthline: 0808 801 0711. www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk[10]

Anorexia & Bulimia Care: ABC provide on-going care, emotional support and practical guidance for anyone affected by eating disorders, those struggling personally and parents, families and friends. Helpline: 03000 11 12 13. www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/[11]

Students Against Depression is a website for students who are depressed, have a low mood or are having suicidal thoughts. Bullying UK is a website for both children and adults affected by bullying studentsagainstdepression.org[12]

For information and links to charities and organisations that can help with substance abuse, visit https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/drugs/[13]

Tom, who was speaking to his friend on the phone during his journey on Junction 9 on the M62, said: “I clocked him, I had seen something not right from a distance, obviously as a truck driver you’re looking way ahead of everyone else.

“I had seen three people on the bridge and I just knew something didn’t seem right. Something seemed off, the spacing of the people – you see truck spotters on bridges.

“As I was getting closer. I saw the person in the middle on the wrong side of the bars sat down with legs dangling on the motorway. The two police on the other side, that’s what I could see. I just said to my mate, I think he’s going to jump, I’m going to have to go.

“I just did what I did.

“That was it, I walked up to the other side of the embankment and told the officers what I had done.

“I was sat for two hours just talking to the police.”

Asked if he had a message for the man, Tom, who runs a Trucking YouTube page called Except for Access[14], added: “All I can say is I wish him the best and he gets through it.

“I’ve never quite been as bad as the position he was in but I know that helplessness though. Many people have felt that helplessness but not many people like to admit it.”

References

  1. ^ hailed a hero (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
  2. ^ M62 (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
  3. ^ praise from across the nation (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
  4. ^ how grateful she is (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
  5. ^ Greater Manchester’s latest coronavirus infection rates (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  6. ^ Leeds Live (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
  7. ^ [email protected] (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  8. ^ http://shiningalightonsuicide.org.uk (t.co)
  9. ^ www.greater-manchester-bereavement-service.org.uk (www.greater-manchester-bereavement-service.org.uk)
  10. ^ www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk (www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk)
  11. ^ www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/ (www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk)
  12. ^ studentsagainstdepression.org (www.google.com)
  13. ^ https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/drugs/ (www.supportline.org.uk)
  14. ^ Except for Access (www.youtube.com)

News Desk

Man arrested following deaths of 39 people in lorry near Dartford Crossing

A man has been arrested at a supermarket petrol station in connection with the investigation into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found in a refrigerated container near the Dartford Crossing.[1][2]

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said that the Vietnamese national, who is not being named, was detained at the site just off the A66 in Middlesborough at about 1pm on Thursday (June 17).

He is wanted by the Belgian authorities, who allege he was a member of a -smuggling network moving people through Belgium and France and into the UK in the back of lorries.

READ MORE: Paedophile caught out when ordering sick images from printers[3]

He is suspected of running safe houses in Brussels, where the victims stayed before their fatal journey.

Join KentLive and sign up to our newsletter

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It couldn’t be simpler and it takes seconds – simply press here[5], enter your email address and follow the instructions. You can also enter your email address in the box below the picture on most desktop and mobile platforms.

You can also sign up to our website and comment on our stories by pressing here and signing in[6].

He is also accused of organising their onward transport in taxis to the collection point in France, where they were stowed in the rear of the refrigerated lorry.

The bodies of the 39 Vietnamese nationals were discovered at an industrial estate in Grays in Essex,[7] shortly after the container arrived on a ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium in the early hours of October 23, 2019.

Among the men, women and children were 10 teenagers, two of them 15-year-old boys.

The 39 Vietnamese migrants, aged between 15 and 44, who were found dead in the back of a trailer in Essex on October 23, 2019
The 39 Vietnamese people, aged between 15 and 44, who were found dead in the back of a trailer in Essex on October 23, 2019 (Image: PA)

A Belgian investigating magistrate issued an arrest warrant in December, suspecting that the man was now in the UK and had links to the Birmingham area.

However NCA investigators were able to track him down to a location in Middlesbrough where he was detained on Thursday, in an operation supported by the North East Regional Special Operations Unit (NERSOU).

He is expected to appear before Westminster Magistrates on Friday where extradition proceedings will begin.

Miles Bonfield, the NCA’s head of organised immigration crime operations, said: “This is another significant arrest in terms of identifying those involved in the events which led to the tragic deaths of those 39 migrants.

“The individual detained today is suspected by the Belgian authorities of having played a key role in placing at least 10 migrants inside that lorry.

“Working closely with partners in the UK, Europe and beyond we are determined to do all we can to get justice for the families of those who died, and disrupt and dismantle the cruel organised criminal networks involved in people-smuggling.”

Earlier this year seven people were given jail terms totalling more than 92 years for their roles in the events which led to the Essex deaths, including four men who were found guilty of manslaughter.

This followed an investigation led by Essex Police and supported by the NCA.

Another Vietnamese national, a man known as Ngo Sy Tai, was arrested by the NCA in December 2020.

He is also wanted by the Belgian authorities for his alleged role in smuggling the victims.

He awaits extradition.

References

  1. ^ supermarket (www.kentlive.news)
  2. ^ Dartford Crossing. (www.kentlive.news)
  3. ^ Paedophile caught out when ordering sick images from printers (www.kentlive.news)
  4. ^ KentLive (www.kentlive.news)
  5. ^ press here (www.kentlive.news)
  6. ^ pressing here and signing in (reachplc.hub.loginradius.com)
  7. ^ 39 Vietnamese nationals were discovered at an industrial estate in Grays in Essex, (www.kentlive.news)

News Desk

Boxer went from 2 years out of sport driving lorry for B&Q to becoming Olympian

Team GB’s Cheavon Clarke has been given more than enough signs that boxing possibly wasn’t for him – from almost dying twice to quitting the sport all together and becoming a lorry driver.

But against odds the 30-year-old, originally born in Jamaica before moving to South London[1], managed to climb to the top and recently punched his name on the ticket for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

On finally clinching his spot at this year’s delayed tournament, Cheavon told My London[2] he’s “more relieved than excited.”

“To be honest I’m just relieved. The job’s not done, when the job’s done I’ll be excited,” Cheavon said.

READ MORE: Senior Met Police Officer wins back job after tribunal rules sacking over child abuse clip was unfair[3]

Cheavon was driving lorries for a living before becoming a Team GB Olmypian
Cheavon was driving lorries for a living before becoming a Team GB Olmypian (Image: Cheavon Clarke)

The heavyweight boxer has his sight firmly fixed on a gold medal but four years ago Cheavon, known to his friends as Chev, was driving a lorry for a living.

Cheavon made a strong start in boxing and at the tender age of 18 years old he was winning championships.

A ruptured appendix months into his budding career which almost killed him couldn’t even stop the Jamaica-born fighter’s prospects.

After a six-month break he continued on a tear through the sport. Frustrating decisions against him and an unsuccessful trial for Team GB had the star contemplating his future in the sport, but he still couldn’t be stopped.

Cheavon competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games representing Jamaica, but it was a surprising loss at the tournament that finally put his boxing career on pause.

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From community stories and news covering every borough of London to celebrity and lifestyle stories, we’ll make sure you get the very best every day.

To sign up to any of our newsletters, simply follow this link and select the newsletter that’s right for you.[4]

And to really customise your news experience on the go, you can download our top-rated free apps for iPhone and Android. Find out more here.[5]

” I lost and I shouldn’t have,” Cheavon said.

“To make it worse everyone was saying ‘that was terrible, I should have won that’ so I was like ‘I’m putting up the gloves’ and stopped boxing for two years.”

As one of the best young boxing talents in the UK, Cheavon put it on pause, taking a lorry driving job delivering to Homebase and B&Q.

During his hiatus between 2014 and 2016, the incoming Olympian said he “loved” his new job.

“I was making money,” Cheavon laughed.

Frustrated with boxing Cheavon stopped to be a lorry driver
Frustrated with boxing Cheavon stopped to be a lorry driver (Image: Cheavon Clarke)

He continued: “Up until December 2015 I didn’t train or do nothing. It was great, I loved lorry driving, any time boxing gets on my nerves, back in the lorry.

“I just go on what I feel, if I enjoy something I do it, I’m not a slave to my trade, I do what I enjoy. It was fun, it was really great.”

Cheavon said his friends constantly pestered him to get back into boxing during his time away and at the close of 2015 his coach, out of the blue, told him to prepare for a March bout.

Before he knew it Cheavon was back competing again at a high level picking up medals and finally landing a spot with Team GB where he competed at the European Championships winning a silver medal in 2017.

The boxer who only started boxing as a teenager looking for something to do in the summer, became Team GB’s number one fighter.

On his start in boxing Cheavon said: ” I used to play football and that was my thing, I was passionate differently about football, people said I should box because I would always be shadow boxing.

“It was one summer my friends were trying to convince me to go to a weights gym and I was like weights are pointless, it’s boring then I saw the boxing club down the road from me.

“So I tricked my friend into going with me.”

On his rise to the top Cheavon has crossed paths with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Rio Ferdinand and even Prince Charles.

The prospect of being a global boxing star along with other British fighters Joshua and Daniel Dubois doesn’t phase Cheavon, he’s focused on one goal.

“I know I can beat anybody in the world,” Cheavon said.

He continued: “Right now the focus is going to the Olympics and executing and performing.

“I don’t care about nothing else. They could offer me a million pounds, nope, Olympic medal.”

News Desk

Mum’s heartfelt thank you to M62 truck driver who saved son

The mum of a man who planned to jump from a bridge crossing the M62 has praised the hero lorry driver who saved her 28-year-old son’s life.

The unknown truck driver was hailed as a hero last week after he stopped on the motorway underneath the bridge when he saw a man sitting on the edge.

He stopped directly underneath the man, meaning he couldn’t jump off – reports Yorkshire Live.[1]

The man’s 56-year-old mum, who didn’t want to be named, said she had seen her son earlier that day and had no idea his mental state was so bad.

More: Schoolgirl suffers horrendous face burns after poached egg explodes[2]

And it wasn’t until she saw the distressing image circulating on Facebook that she realised it was her son.

She said: “I kept looking at it and I thought, ‘I’m sure that is my son.

“The picture got sent to me and it was circulated around and I could tell it was him by the way he was sat and the clothes he had on.

“I’d seen him earlier that day and he was his normal self. I didn’t see him for long because he just came and went but I was talking to him for a bit.

“Looking back, all I can think to myself is, ‘oh my God, that could’ve been the last I saw him’.

“Before he left, he turned round to me and said, ‘see you mum, I love you’ and I said it back but that could’ve been the last time.”

The image of the trucker, which was posted by Vulnerable Citizen Support Leeds, has gone viral with praise flooding in for the lorry driver who stopped under the bridge.

Now, the man’s mum, who is from Manchester, is keen to make sure the driver knows just how grateful she is and she is convinced the trucker saved her son and prevented him from taking his own life.

Helplines and websites

Samaritans (116 123) samaritans.org operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at [email protected][3] , write to Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA and visit www.samaritans.org/branches to find your nearest branch.

For support for people feeling suicidal, if you are concerned about someone or if you are bereaved by suicide see http://shiningalightonsuicide.org.uk[4]

CALM (0800 58 58 58) thecalmzone.net has a helpline is for men who are down or have hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support. They’re open 5pm to midnight, 365 days a year.

Childline (0800 1111 ) runs a helpline for children and young people in the UK. Calls are free and the number won’t show up on your phone bill.

PAPYRUS (0800 068 41 41) is a voluntary organisation supporting teenagers and young adults who are feeling suicidal.

Beat Eating Disorders: Beat provides helplines for adults and young people offering support and information about eating disorders. These helplines are free to call from all phones. Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677, Studentline: 0808 801 0811, Youthline: 0808 801 0711. www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk[5]

Anorexia & Bulimia Care: ABC provide on-going care, emotional support and practical guidance for anyone affected by eating disorders, those struggling personally and parents, families and friends. Helpline: 03000 11 12 13. www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/[6]

Students Against Depression is a website for students who are depressed, have a low mood or are having suicidal thoughts. Bullying UK is a website for both children and adults affected by bullying studentsagainstdepression.org[7]

For information and links to charities and organisations that can help with substance abuse, visit https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/drugs/[8]

She said: “He saved his life, at the moment, my son has a lot of problems. He has a lot of worries and I’m just grateful that the driver’s stopped him doing that and I can’t express how grateful that he did stop.

“My son is now getting help. He went to the doctors so hopefully he gets in a better place.

“It was awful at the time and I’m just glad the driver had the sense to do that and stop there and I can’t express how I am feeling.

“It could have been a very different story and I don’t like to imagine that. I just want to get that message out there to thank the driver for everything he has done as he was a godsend that day.”

References

  1. ^ reports Yorkshire Live. (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
  2. ^ Schoolgirl suffers horrendous face burns after poached egg explodes (www.lancs.live)
  3. ^ [email protected] (www.lancs.live)
  4. ^ http://shiningalightonsuicide.org.uk (t.co)
  5. ^ www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk (www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk)
  6. ^ www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/ (www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk)
  7. ^ studentsagainstdepression.org (www.studentsagainstdepression.org)
  8. ^ https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/drugs/ (www.supportline.org.uk)