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A hero police officer caught a woman in mid-air after she jumped from a ledge into the Thames.

Pc Fab Ahmed feared he was moments from his own death as he clung onto the woman and her weight began to drag him over the railings of Kingston Bridge.

Colleagues raced to his side and grabbed his legs as he began to slip. They hauled him and the woman to safety, along with a firefighter who had also rushed to save her.

The officer, 29, told the Standard today: “As we were pulling onto her and my feet went into the air, I thought: ‘We’re going to tip into the water with her.’ The lifeboat wasn’t there yet.

“The river’s freezing and there was two stone of kit and equipment with me – it would have been life-threatening.

“I was running through in my head what I was going to do next. I knew I had a major fight on my hands to stay alive and do my best to help the lady when we both hit the water.”

Police and firefighters had been called on October 28 to rescue a woman sat on the wrong side of the ledge. After a minute or so spent unsuccessfully trying to talk her into stepping back to safety, Pc Ahmed stood up to radio for backup – and a nearby firefighter shouted that the woman was falling.

Without a thought for their own safety, the firefighter and policeman lunged over the bridge and grabbed the woman by the shoulders as she fell.

Her weight pulled them off the ground and both men were left hanging over the safety rail on their stomachs.

With 13 kg of equipment and steel boots, Pc Ahmed knew he stood little chance of survival if he fell the 15 metres into the freezing water.

“The fireman grabbed the upper part of her body. I’d climbed over the ledge to grab her by the shoulders of her jacket, which luckily was done up,” said Pc Ahmed, a policeman in Kingston since 2009.

“I hadn’t realised the height of the bridge as I looked down.

“Then, as we took more of her weight with our arms, both our legs went up in the air. My abdomen was on the ledge and because of the weight we were being pulled down as well.

“I just thought: ‘We need to save her.’ At the time the goal was just to save her – to get her over the side.

“After my legs went up in the air it felt like a lifetime. Everything slowed down.

“Our colleagues from the fire brigade and police ran over, grabbed our legs and pulled us back. One of the guys was a brand new officer – I’m so glad he was switched on enough to grab my legs.”

The hero firefighter is still recovering from arm injuries he sustained while trying to lift the woman over the edge.

Acting Supt Claire Moxon said: “I am extremely proud of the immense courage and bravery my officers showed last night on the bridge.

“There is no doubt about it – Pc Ahmed put his life in extreme danger to save this young lady.

“If the officers and the fire fighters hadn’t taken the actions they did I am sure there would have been another very different ending to this event.”

Samaritans provides confidential support to anyone feeling down and depressed or struggling to cope. Volunteers can be contacted round the clock by phone 08457 90 90 90, or you can e-mail jo@samaritans.org.