Man threatened to throw himself into River Dee at Chester

Jun 1 2008 by Laurie Stocks-Moore, Chester Chronicle

A TENSE one-hour stand-off ended in a man being talked out of throwing himself into the River Dee in Chester.

As the drama unfolded at 3am today (Sunday, June 1), a total of 26 firefighters, including crews from Chester and Knutsford, rushed to the scene.

A man had been reported threatening to hurl himself off the Grosvenor Bridge and four fire engines, a boat and a hydraulic platform were deployed in anticipation of a rescue operation.

Crew manager Kevin Shone, at Chester Fire Station, was at the scene.

He said: “He was right in the middle of the arch and we prepared for a rescue or recovery because it was a low tide.

“We went upstream to prepare a boat for launching. We came on a silent approach and stayed well back near the courts.

“In these situations we don't arrive with blue lights and screeching because it only exacerbates the situation.

“It was a lot of equipment, men and time for us. He was eventually talked down by a police negotiator.

“Quite a few people over the year do this and usually nothing happens - it's just people on their way home from a night out. But that's what we're here for, whatever people's state of mind.”

It is believed the man was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital for evaluation.