Eastbourne police officers awarded for stopping woman taking her own life

PCs William Bayley and Christopher Franklin-Lester pulled the woman back to safety at The Beacon car park on October 18 2019.

They have been awarded with major national life-saving honours – Royal Humane Society Testimonials on Parchment.

Andrew Chapman, secretary of the society, said, “Thankfully they were close enough to rush forward, grab her just in time to prevent her falling.

“They truly deserve the awards they are to receive. They prevented a tragedy.”

Mr Chapman said, “We are always anxious to receive nominations from anyone who knows someone who has saved a life and who they believe merits an award from us.

“We suspect quite a few people responsible for acts of bravery and life-saving don’t always get put forward for our awards, and as a result don’t get the public recognition they deserve.

“If any readers know of anyone they think should receive an award, they can submit a nomination on the Royal Humane Society’s website.”

The roots of the society stretch back more than two centuries. The Queen is its patron, and its president is Princess Alexandra.

It is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was founded in 1774 by medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.

Since it was set up, the society has considered over 87,000 cases and made more than 200,000 awards. It is a registered charity which receives no public funding and is dependent on voluntary donations.

It was one of a select number of organisations to receive a donation from the Patron’s fund which was set up, to acknowledge work done by organisations of which the Queen is the patron, to mark her 90th birthday.

Anyone wanting to know more about the Royal Humane Society, or wanting to make a nomination, can go to royalhumanesociety.org.uk