Two Dumfries prison officers yesterday received bravery awards from Cabinet Secretary Keith Brown for stopping a man from leaping off the town’s Buccleuch Street Bridge.
Susan Findlater and Fiona Smith were honoured in a ceremony at HMP Dumfries with framed certificates for meritorious conduct for saving the man.
Prison governor Andrew Hunstone, who accepted the awards on behalf of the officers, said: “On June 21 last year while during their lunch break, Susan and Fiona took a walk across into town and were crossing the Buccleuch Street Bridge where they became suspicious of a gentleman who was acting very strangely.
“And, as a result of their instincts, they began to monitor him a little bit closer and realised he was intending jumping from the bridge and taking his own life.
“They took it upon themselves to run across the road to prevent the individual from jumping from the bridge.
“Fiona grabbed a hold of his belt to hold his weight while Susan grabbed him under his arm and maintained that ... until police officers arrived and pulled the gentleman back across the bridge wall.
“Both prison officers show compassion and resilience within this establishment and carried that high standard of duty of care while off duty.
“They also showed a great deal of humility as they didn’t inform anyone and it was only (revealed) when the then governor, Linda Dorward, received a phone call from the Chief Superintendent at Dumfries and Galloway Police informing them of their courageous act.
“He said had it not been for them the man would’ve caused serious damage to himself because there was very little water under the bridge at the time and it was mainly rocks and
stones. It would’ve caused him serious injury or caused his death. If it had not been for their instinct it could have been a lot worse.”
Mr Brown, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, added: “They both showed compassion and courage in that situation.”
Fiona, 56, has been a prison officer for 31 years at Dumfries.
She said: “The guy was in his 40s or 50s and we were on the opposite side of the road when we saw. We knew there was something not quite right. There was hardly any water because the weather had been amazing at that time. I grabbed his belt instinctively and Susan got his arm. It wasn’t a case of talking him down as he was ready to jump by the time we got across the road.”
Susan, 59, who has been an officer for 20 years, said: “We were heading across the bridge when it happened.
“I remember there was hardly any traffic and it was kind of silent which is strange for that part of town. But I got a hold of him under his arm and we held him until police arrived. We heard he had run away from court that day and we saw him take off his rucksack and jacket and thought, ‘What’s he doing?’ then ran across. It was such a shock.
MSP Emma Harper paid tribute to the Dumfries duo and added: “It’s amazing what they did and they are so humble too and didn’t even want to be part of the photos at these awards.”
