A POLICE officer who grabbed a girl threatening to jump from a seventh floor ledge has been commended for her decisive actions in a special ceremony.

Police constable Nicola Crane, 27, was called to a block of flats along Lewisham Road, in Lewisham, where a 15-year-old girl was threatening to jump to her death.

PC Crane, together with her partner PC Colin Stevens, have now been praised for their professionalism, communication skills and prompt, decisive actions in bringing the girl to safety at a ceremony last week.

She said: “When we got to the flats an ambulance crew was there. The girl had her toes on the ledge and was leaning out with just her hand on a rail.

“She was crying and could have gone at any time. It could have been a cry for help but even then she could have slipped.” The girl had climbed over a seventh-floor balcony to reach the ledge where she threatened to jump on November 26, 2002.

The girl stated she had been kidnapped and raped. PC Crane built up a rapport with the girl. The officers then moved closer, grabbed her and pulled her back over the balcony rail to safety.

Other Greenwich police officers commended for professionalism include PC Heather Ansell and PC James Dommett who prevented suspects of a vicious robbery from leaving the scene.

In the incident, which happened on March 4, 2003, a 17-year-old man was walking home along Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, when a group of four men robbed him. They punched him, knocked him to the ground and repeatedly kicked him.

Woolwich CCTV Control Centre Kevin Ward, also commended for his professionalism, captured the events on camera and alerted police at Plumstead.

PC Ansell and PC Dommett found the suspects, who then became abusive. Both officers prevented the suspects from escaping, with PC Ansell even holding onto one of the suspects who had become extremely aggressive. Three of the suspects were later arrested and charged.