Entertainment
Penny Lancaster saved the life of ‘desperate man’ on a bridge while working for police: ‘It was rewarding’
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Penny Lancaster has spoken about the emotional moment she saved a suicidal man while working as a Special Constable for the City of London police.
When she was on shift she encountered a ‘desperate man’ on a bridge one night, adding that her experiences on the job have been ‘rewarding’.
She spoke to hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley on Wednesday’s instalment of Good Morning Britain, where she was supporting Lissie Harper, the widow of PC Andrew Harper, on her campaign for Harper’s Law – which would give a life sentence to anyone found guilty of killing an emergency services worker.
Penny explained that during such an uncertain time there has been an uptake of incidents of people thinking about taking their own lives at their lowest points.
She said: ‘I’ve had five duties so far and it’s been interesting. I’ve even, when you think of policing you think of the most violent crimes but we’re out there to help the most vulnerable.
‘At this particular time there’s a lot of instances obviously on the bridges and I did help assist someone that was pretty desperate on a bridge the other night. It can be rewarding in so many ways.’
When an amazed Susanna praised her for saving someone’s life, the former model added: ‘That’s what policing does so we’ve got to look after the police and make that when their lives are taken, punishment is given.’
Confessing that the job is ‘dangerous’ she went on: ‘The thing is the police are the public, the public are the police. There’s women and men alike, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, we’re just regular people but we put that uniform to help protect.’
Susanna didn’t want to play down Penny’s actions on the bridge, telling her: ‘You had an extraordinary responsibility. You talked to somebody when they had the worst, lowest, darkest thoughts.
‘That in itself is an extraordinary job to do. That’s perhaps some of the unpublicised work of police officers. To talk someone down in their lowest moments. Did you feel the weight of that responsibility in that moment?’
Penny, who is married to musician Rod Stewart, said she felt her life experiences had made her ready to deal with such a delicate moment.
‘I had the right training and I think from the life experiences that I’ve had I feel like I belong in the force at the moment,’ she explained.
‘I’m at that age where I’ve been there and done it, having children of my own, so I felt that I was prepared for that moment. Of course you never know until you’re there.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
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