Police negotiators had to talk a man down from the Orwell Bridge for the second time in a matter of days after he threatened to throw himself off.

Anthony Bond

Police negotiators had to talk a man down from the Orwell Bridge for the second time in a matter of days after he threatened to throw himself off.

Members of the public driving along the Felixstowe-bound carriageway of the A14 near Ipswich contacted Suffolk police at about 5.45am on Saturday reporting that a man was hanging over the bridge.

Police officers and trained negotiators were sent to the scene and the carriageway was closed for two hours while they spoke to the man.

The man was described as being “very distressed”.

The Harwich RNLI Inshore Lifeboat was also launched to assist police.

It is believed the 28-year-old man is the same person who police officers had to talk down from the bridge during the evening rush hour on Wednesday night. The incident resulted in major traffic problems.

Following almost two hours of talks on Saturday morning, the police negotiators managed to talk the man down from the bridge.

He was taken into the care of family and friends.

A spokesman for the lifeboat said: “The Harwich RNLI Inshore Lifeboat was launched at 6.25am on Saturday to assist local police units at the Orwell Bridge with a possible suicide attempt.

“At 8.00am the lifeboat was stood down.”