Man who plunged from Dartford Bridge into Thames after hours of negotiation named as Rajinder Sahota

Trained police officers spent four hours negotiating with the 42-year-old, before he jumped from the QE2 Bridge at around 3pm on March 9 into the Thames.

An inquest into the death of Mr Sahota, who was from the Leicester area and had connections with Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, was opened and adjourned by the coroner.

After jumping from the bridge, a lifeboat carried him to an ambulance waiting at the shore but he was later pronounced dead at Darent Valley Hospital.

An Essex Police spokesman said: "Police officers including trained negotiators spent several hours talking to the man, trying to get him to come back over the barrier.

"But at 3pm, the man walked to the apex of the bridge and then plunged into the river."

The QE2 Bridge was closed for seven hours whilst police dealt with the incident, which saw motorists travelling on the M25 clockwise from Essex into Kent being diverted through the west bore of the tunnel.

Motorists travelling from Kent into Essex also faced lengthy delays as only the east bore tunnel was open.

Officers were first called to the QE2 Bridge to reports of a man having stopped his car on lane one of the bridge.

On arrival, they found the man standing on the wrong side of the barriers and threatening to jump.