A trio have told of the moment they saved a man from plunging 100ft from Newton Cap Viaduct as they call for greater safety measures to be installed on bridges.
Paul Aldsworth and his son Oscar Eckley-Aldsworth were travelling over the viaduct near Bishop Auckland on Saturday when they witnessed a man climb onto the other side of the bridge which crosses the River Wear.
Believing that he was about to jump from the viaduct, the pair immediately rushed to the man's rescue and managed to grab his arms as the man let go of the railings.
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They were swiftly joined by Lee Gustard who had also witnessed the incident and joined the rescue effort, which saved the man's life.
Paul, from Coundon, said: "It was just a natural reaction to go over and help him and I would do it again because if it was a member of my family I would want someone to do that.
"I couldn't go past him and not do anything. Imagine if I didn't do anything and I saw something in the paper about it? I don't think it's right to just walk past and ignore it.
"In the cold light of day you look back and think anything could have happened, but it was just the natural reaction to help."
Paul, his wife Kelly and their son Oscar were travelling across the viaduct at around 5.30pm on Saturday evening when they witnessed the man climb onto the viaduct.
The 49-year-old said he was looking out of his rear view mirror when he noticed the man climbing onto the other side of the bridge.
He immediately stopped the car and rushed to the man's rescue while Kelly phoned the emergency services.
Paul added: "I stopped the car and jumped out. I didn't say anything to my wife or my son who were with me other than he's going to jump.
"As I approached the guy I looked round and my son was standing next to me.
"We were saying to him 'Howay, it's not worth it mate'. He turned around as if he was going to jump so I just said to my son 'grab him'.
"We grabbed his arms as he was hanging over the viaduct and we managed to pull his arms up onto the railings and we were shouting for help.
"We were at our strongest at that point but after that we couldn't pull him up any further up to get him back over the railing."
As Paul and Oscar held onto the man's arms, Lee, who had also witnessed the incident, joined them to help rescue the man.
Lee, from Crook, climbed onto the railing and held the man to prevent him from falling, while other members of the public held Lee's leg to stop him from toppling over the barrier.
Lee, 38, said: "I ran over to help out and the adrenaline was kicking in.
"I climbed over the railings and straddled the bars while some other people came over to keep hold of my leg to stop me from falling.
"I lent down to grab his legs to try and pull him up. At the time it didn't seem like anything, I could just see these guys were holding onto him for dear life and trying to keep him up."
Paul added: "It all happened so fast and I don't know how long it was before Lee came over and helped but we couldn't have done it without him.
"He climbed onto the railing himself and he was trying to grab the man.
"It seemed like we had a hold of him for an eternity but it could have just been minutes, I just don't know."
Police and fire crews attended and were able to work together to rescue the man using harnessing equipment.
Paul said: "I've had no sleep since, it's just been going through my mind.
"It was a bit of a buzz at the time knowing that you'd saved someone's life but then I had a shower and it started to sink in what had happened.
"My arm's all bruised and it's still aching from trying to hold him up over the barrier, but I'm not bothered about that at all. The main thing is we've saved that man's life."
Now the trio are hoping that their experiences will help raise awareness of the need to install fences or wire netting on bridges.
Oscar, 19, said: "There should be a railing there to stop people.
"Yes, we took the time to help this guy but if anything went wrong we could have seen the worst thing possible and it could have scarred us.
"It's something that could have been prevented if there were railings there.
"How many incidents is it going to take for something to be done about it?
"It's hard times for people. We're coming out of a pandemic and not everyone is in the right frame of mind.
"All viaducts should have the same measures put in place. It's one less place for someone to go."
In September Jeremy Chipperfield, a senior coroner for Durham and Darlington, warned that unless action is taken to improve safety measures there is a risk of further deaths at Newton Cap viaduct.
It followed an inquest into the death of 18-year-old Joseph William Dent, who suffered multiple injuries when he fell from the viaduct.
In recent years there have also been two petitions calling for similar measures following public concern about the deaths and "near misses".
Lee said: "Someone survived this time but it could have been a very different outcome and how would we have felt if something had gone wrong?
"I know there's other bridges and there's other places, but that deterrent could be enough.
"Someone could think that they were going to do it, but realise the fence was there and that could be enough to talk them down.
"We really want to raise awareness to try and get some fences put up along the bridge because the next person might not be so lucky, there might not be people there to help them."
Paul added: "We'd like to see a safety barrier put up on that bridge because other people have done it and I don't want anyone else to in the future.
"Even if it was a wire mesh with fencing at the end so you couldn't climb onto it.
"For the price of a life it's pennies. If I won the Lottery I would get it myself."
For free, anonymous support for people in distress, including those experiencing suicidal thoughts, Samartians can be contacted free on 116 123 or by email to jo@samaritans.org
