11/21/2010

Just a little thing I had to write for uni


A Man Threatens to Jump off Burnaby Bridge

Rail traffic disrupted after a man threatened to jump off Burnaby Road railway bridge this morning.
The unnamed man, in his thirties and from Southsea, was seen on the railway bridge at 8.30am by a passer by.
The police immediately contacted network rail, who shut off the power to the live rail. There were no trains leaving from Portsmouth Harbour station until noon, but disruptions were minimal as there were only three trains backed into station.
It is suspected that the man was on the bridge because his wife had taken their two children and left after having an affair with another man.
Johnnie Duncan, a WHSmiths assistant manager, dialled 999. Mr Duncan was on his way to work when he spotted the man on the bridge, “It was very scary,” he said, the man “was waving his arms around and inching closer to the edge.”
While the man was up there a crowd gathered, some of whom were shouting at him to jump. Something which Detective Inspector Sharon Wheeler described as “rabid with stupidity.”
He would not come down until Father Maurice O'Reilly of St. Theresa's in Southsea, his parish priest, showed up on the scene. Father O'Reilly, who has recently had major heart surgery, was hauled up the embankment by police officers to calm the man down. “The only tricky part was climbing up the bank as I'm not as young as I used to be,” Father O'Reilly said.
After about ten minutes Father O'Reilly put his arm around the man's shoulders and they were escorted safely back down to the road by police officers.
The man has been taken to hospital for a medical check up, and there may be charges pending.

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