A heroic trio saved the life of a vulnerable teenager after pulling her from a motorway bridge and then taking her for a pizza.

Siobhan Gill was driving towards Langley across the Greengate roundabout with her boyfriend Lee Kelly and her brother James McDonald when they spotted a person on the bridge.

They decided to turn around and drove back onto the bridge where they saw a teenage girl on the wrong side of the barrier.

James, who works as a chef, said: “It was a young girl on the barrier leaning out.

“All of the cars were just speeding past. We stepped out of the car and said ‘come and talk to us’ but she wouldn’t, she just burst into tears.”

Lee made a grab for the girl and they pulled her over the barrier to safety. The 17-year-old was distraught so the friends decided to take her for a pizza and warm her up to calm her down.

James, 28, said: “When we got her on the other side of the barrier she was really upset.

“We took her to Middleton to get her a pizza and a brew and tried to get her warmed up.

“It wasn’t just a case of stop and call the police because that wouldn’t have made anything better.”

He added: “We asked her if there was anyone in particular she wanted to call, but she said she’d had a bad life and been in and out of care since she was young and that she had no friends or family that cared for her.

“The girl was from out of the area, but she had been placed in a care home in north Manchester.”

Police have confirmed that the teenager was reported missing from a care home at 9.15pm on the evening she was found on the bridge.

Greater Manchester Police, social services and the care home provider will have a meeting about the teenager with the possibility of moving her to a different location for safety.

James said: “There have been a lot of bad incidents in Middleton and unnecessary deaths.

“It makes you feel good because there’s one less person in pain and it has a bigger impact, like you made a bit of a difference. I hope if anyone reads this story they’ll know that there are people who care.”

Anyone suffering from mental health problems can seek support at Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust: http://www.mhsc.nhs.uk/