A Bexleyheath boxer helped save a man’s life by talking him down from jumping off a bridge on the A2.

Sam Cantwell, 28, of Broomfield Road, was on his usual 40-minute run when he saw a man climb over the railings of a bridge in Bourne Road, Bexleyheath, at 11am on August 18.

After sprinting to the man, who was “upset and crying”, he stayed with him for 10 minutes and successfully managed to talk him down.

Mr Cantwell said he was glad the man’s four children would be seeing their dad again.

He told News Shopper: “The man was doing a countdown to jump and it was frightening.

News Shopper:

The bridge above the A2 in Bourne Road, Bexleyheath 

“He said he’d be quitting if he came back over the railings, but I told him he’d be fighting, fighting for his four kids, and that if he jumped, they would not have a daddy anymore.

“He responded well to that and came back over – it was a relief.

“It’s important he gets the help he needs and that his kids will see their dad again.”

Mr Cantwell’s actions have been praised by fans on Facebook and Twitter.

But, the super-flyweight was quick to acknowledge that it was not just him who helped.

He said: “There was another gentleman who came across to help – he was really good with him.

“A couple of drivers had also pulled over to see what was going on.

News Shopper:

Sam Cantwell

“The other man walked him across the bridge and then the police and ambulance service arrived and I stayed for another 30 minutes to talk to him.

“The man on the bridge was shouting ‘no one cares about me’ and I just said ‘look at all these people who have got out of their cars, they care about you.’”

Mr Cantwell was thinking of not going for his routine run, but he said he was meant to be on the bridge to help the man.

“It’s the most courageous thing I’ve ever done – I’ve helped, along with the other people who were there, get him back to his kids,” he added.

“I was meant to be there on that day to help him.

“A close family friend did the same thing that this man tried to do but went through with it – he had no one there to talk to him.

“The whole event was draining, but I’m glad the man is alive. I didn’t even want to go on a run that morning – I was going to cut it short. But, I’m glad I didn’t.”

A Met Police spokesman said: “We attended the scene, along with the ambulance service and the man came down after 11.15am.”