Police condemn callous people who mocked man in mental health crisis on Milton Keynes motorway

Police closed the motorway while they helped the man

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

The man was threatening to take his own life

Police officers have condemned callous onlookers who MOCKED as a man threatened to take his own life on the M1 at Newport Pagnell.

Officers had to close the motorway for an extended period on Saturday afternoon after motorists reported a male sitting on the wrong side of the overbridge.

A TVP Roads Policing spokesman said this week: “Our thanks to the patience of the majority of the public who waited patiently in their vehicles whilst we dealt with it.”

But he added: “Unfortunately there were some people who chose to stand out of their vehicles, shout at the male and tried to encourage him to jump as well as being abusive.

"If you were amongst this number and are reading this post then you need to have a little talk with yourself in the mirror. If this was your family member/friend/partner sat on the bridge in a mental health crisis, you would want them to be treated with compassion and respect.”

The man was safely removed from the bridge, detained under the Mental Health Act and is now receiving treatment in safety, say police.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, which aims to raise awareness of mental health problems.

One of the concerned motorists who alerted police to Saturday’s incident was former Blue Peter and Sky Sports presenter Simon Thomas, who is a respected mental health advocate.

He was appalled at the reaction from some of the callous onlookers. He retweeted the post from police on his Twitter page and wrote: “It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and on Saturday whilst travelling on the M1 we saw a man looking very troubled on a bridge. We couldn’t help, but rang the police to alert them to what we’d seen. This was their post about the man.

"He’s getting help, but the abuse?! What on earth!”

Simon’s post gathered 68,500 views and dozens of supportive comments.

One reader wrote: “What a tragic reflection of the ‘me’ society we seem to inhabit. I hope he’s getting the right support, and I do hope people reflect a little more deeply.”

Contact Samaritans for free at any time on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org.