England cricketers Stuart Broad and Matt Prior have helped stop a man jumping to his death from a Sydney bridge.

Broad and Prior were returning from a post-Ashes function with supporters on Tuesday night when they noticed a man standing on the edge of Pyrmont bridge, the Daily Telegraph reports.

At first they thought he was doing it as a dare but quickly realised it was a suicide bid and along with security guard, Terry Minish, pulled the man across the rails to safety and stayed with him chatting for an hour until police arrived.

"We just did what anybody would do in that situation," said Prior.

"We were trying to help a bloke who was struggling and in a bad way. I look back and I'm just glad we left the bar when we did and we were there for him."

The man, who had thrown his wallet, phone and passport into the water, was from Cheltenham, the Daily Mirror reported, so the cricketers tried to engage him in conversation about that.

The man reportedly did not recognise the players.

"Walking back to the hotel we spotted a young man on the edge of the bridge about to jump," said Minish.

"Matt helped to pull him down off the edge of the bridge and sat with him until the police arrived. It all happened very quickly and we acted on impulse. It is what you do in these situations."

Prior has not spoken about the rescue on social media though the day after the Barmy Army function, which was raising money for the Broad Appeal, tweeted his appreciation of the event.

After the story broke Broad praised Prior on Twitter.

Prior is returning to England while Broad is staying in Australia and will be captaining three Twenty20 matches.

• Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 100 659 467 (Australia) or The Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (UK).