POLICE officers who grappled with a man spotted dangling over a busy motorway yesterday have been hailed as lifesavers.

Numerous 999 calls were made reporting that a man was sat on the wrong side of a bridge barrier with his legs hanging over the southbound M61 at Sandy Lane, near Brindle.

PC Gavin Daw was first on the scene amid fears the man was about to jump.

He said: “The man was stood on the bridge leaning against the barrier, obviously in a very distressed state.

“There were urgent concerns for his safety and that of road users.”

PC Daw began to talk to the man as another officer, PC Dave Kinsley approached the him on his blind side from the opposite side of the bridge.

PC Daw added: “As soon as Dave got to him we both grabbed the man but he attempted to climb over the railings.

"It took a lot of effort from both of us to restrain him and get handcuffs on as he seemed in a very agitated state.

“By this time we’d been joined by some motorway officers so the scene was under control.”

During the incident, the motorway was not closed but the electronic matrix was set to slow down traffic.

A 52-year-old local man, of no fixed abode was taken to Chorley Hospital for medical assessment after the incident at around 9.30am on Monday.

Sgt Azz Khan, from Chorley police, said: “These officers acted decisively and with calmness in a very difficult and potentially life threatening situation.”