Two teenage boys are dubbed ‘angels’ after jumping onto the tracks to save a man in distress just seconds before a train arrived.
Freddie Corbett, 15, and Harley Hollingworth, 16, spotted the man in a sleeping bag on the platform at Bolton upon Dearne in South Yorkshire on Saturday night.
They were waiting for the last train home with Freddie’s 11pm curfew fast approaching when the man jumped onto the tracks. The boys heard him say he was going to commit suicide.
“Freddie said, ‘You don’t do that, mate’, and without even thinking, jumped onto the track as a train was coming,” his mother Jill Corbett told Sky News.
“Together they managed to get this man off the track and held him until someone else came to help.”
There were also two girls on the platform and called the police. Then the driver of the oncoming train backed up and told the boys that help was coming.
“In the meantime, Freddie and Harley had talked to this gentleman and had a little heart-to-heart and found out what had been happening in his life.”
After the man was taken over by police, Network Rail worker Gary Robinson took the teenagers home.
‘Imagine my surprise. “I’d been wondering all night where Freddie was blinking without answering his phone, when I opened the door to someone in a bright orange jumpsuit,” Ms Corbett said.
“We are extremely proud,” she added.
Freddie got a “lecture from his grandma” for jumping in front of a train, but told his mother he would “do it again if he was faced with the same situation tomorrow”.
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‘I wasn’t worried about the train’ Harley told the Daily Mirror. ‘I just wanted to make sure Freddie got him off track. We could see the headlights of the train coming and it wasn’t a very long curve.”
Network Rail employee Gary Robinson posted about the incident on social media.
“Called this evening to a man intending to harm himself on the tracks,” he wrote.
“These two guys were his angels! Dragged him off the railroad tracks…sat talking to him until I got there and make no mistake, I saved his life!”
“It didn’t surprise me,” said Mrs. Corbett, Freddie’s mother.
“He is an extremely caring boy. He’s one of the guys, but at the same time he’s the first guy there if any of his friends ever need him.
“If any of us ever need him, if I’ve ever been angry about anything, he’s there. He’s just special.’
“[It’s] “not every day you get to say your son is a hero,” Freddie’s father Billy posted on social media, while Harley’s father Dale said he was “as proud as punch.”
Hundreds of people have praised the boys for their bravery.
“This is amazing, two young men saving a life!” said one Facebook user.
“Well done [Harley’s mother] for picking up a good boy. They are two angels,” said another.
Although the response for the teens has been “overwhelming” and they are deeply concerned about the man they saved, their teenage habits remain strong.
“They both slept with us last night and didn’t get up until around midday,” Mrs Corbett said.
‘They’re just not aware of it. The anxiety is through the roof, but Freddie and Harley are sleeping soundly!’
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call your nearest Samaritans office or 1 (800) 273-TALK