The boys refused to let the man hang himself (Picture: Hertfordshire Mercury/BPM Media)

These three boys were faced with the unimaginable as they walked across a motorway bridge.

They came across a man sitting on the edge, preparing to jump into the oncoming traffic.

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Without a moment’s thought, Devonte Cafferkey, 13, Sammy Farah, 14, and Shawn Young, 13, rushed to get a hold of him.

They refused to let go as Shawn called for help.


As they tried to talk him out of taking his life, he passed the boys his mobile phone saying ‘if it rings, don’t answer it’.

Joanne Stammers, 47, was walking near the A10 overpass in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, and raced to their side.

They found the suicidal man on the A10 overpass in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire (Picture: Google)

She took over from the boys and held onto the man ‘for what feels like forever’.



Another man, James Higlett, also helped the boys save the man’s life.

All five will now receive awards from the Royal Humane Society, a charity promoting life-saving intervention.

Shawn’s mum, Carol, said: ‘I am extremely proud of all three of them, they are all good boys and it’s nice that they are getting recognised for doing something good in the community.

‘Quite often in the national news there are a lot of negative reports about young people so it is nice to have something positive.

The boys go to St Mary’s High School in Waltham Cross (Picture: Google)

‘They are very young and I marvel at how they are all dealing with it. Every time I speak to them I learn something new about what happened.

‘For example, the man was passing out and got heavier for them, I didn’t know that until recently.’

The three children, who go to St Mary’s High School, picked up special achievement awards at the Broxbourne Youth Awards for their bravery.

Joanne described the award as a ‘great honour’ and said it’s ‘great the kids are getting something for what they did’.

She added: ‘I am really pleased for them and I hope other children can see it’s worth stopping to help someone.’