POLICE sergeant Alexandra Spargo has told how she used all of her training and experience to talk a distressed woman out of a suicide attempt on top of a town centre car park.

She was one of a number of officers who were honoured at an awards ceremony in Bradford on Avon on Wednesday evening.

Sgt Spargo, 41, was awarded a Chief Constable’s Commendation for her quick thinking and selfless compassion when she prevented a suicide attempt at Debenham’s multi-storey car park in Fleming Way in December.

Sgt Spargo found the distraught woman standing on the wrong side of the safety rail on the fourth floor of the car park.

The woman almost lost her balance and was clearly unsteady.

Sgt Spargo had to decide whether to talk to her from a distance, which may have left the woman in a precarious position, or approach her to hold onto her, which may have made the situation worse.

But she approached the woman while reassuring her and trying to soothe her until another officer was close enough to stop her from falling off the edge.

She was unaware that the woman had a history of mental health issues and had survived a previous jump from height and was threatening to jump again.

PS Spargo, who is based in Swindon, said: “I remember it being a very busy night when I went to the car park.

“I passed a woman on the stairs who asked me if I was there for the suicidal woman on the fourth floor.

“When I got there, I could see her on the danger side of the rail, she was really distressed.

“I just spoke to her and tried to calm her down, I reached out and stroked her head to try and comfort her, the poor woman was in bits.

“I held her arm so she wouldn’t fall and spoke to her whilst I waited for another officer to arrive and when my colleague did get there, we managed to get her over the rail.”

The two officers brought the woman back to the ground.

Chief Constable Mike Veale’s citation read: “Without PC Spargo’s fast assessment of the situation and sharp decision-making, the incident could have ended very differently.

She later learned that the woman she had saved had a history of mental illness and had survived a similar suicide attempt in the past.

“Alexandra demonstrated a superb example of selfless decision making, with the welfare of the public firmly at the heart,” he said.

The officer said she was equipped to deal with the situation because of her training.

“I’m the blue champion for mental health so when I see someone who is going through a mental health crisis I have to help,” she said.

"I think it’s human nature really, I don’t know how people could walk away from something like that.”