TWO hero policemen spent almost four hours trying to stop a man throwing himself from a cliff-top.

Sgt Nick Wainwright and acting Sgt Dave Costigan managed to persuade the 38-year-old man not to jump from 500ft-high Beachy Head by telling jokes.

They then made a daredevil grab for the man in a bid to pull him to safety.

The pair were called to the notorious suicide blackspot near Eastbourne yesterday, following reports that a man had been seen acting strangely.

He ran to the cliff-top when he saw police arrive and sat just three feet from the edge.

At first he threatened to jump if the officers came close.

But they slowly built up a rapport with him before making an attempt to pull him back.

Sgt Wainwright said: "It was very cold up there. We were concerned he was going to jump.

"We started by getting inside the fenced-off safety zone.

"Then it was a case of finding out why he was up there. He was depressed.

"After three hours we managed to get some sort of rapport going with him.

"When I was about ten feet away, I strapped on a safety harness which was attached to the police car.

"At about 11.30pm, I made a grab for him.

"I caught him off guard. He was laughing at one of our jokes.

"I grabbed hold of him and pulled him back.

"I have been to a few attempted suicides but that one was the longest."

The man, from Kent, was detained under the Mental Health Act.

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