A POLICEMAN has described “one of the most intense moments” of his career after he helped save the life of a teenager trying to jump into the River Ouse.

The police constable, who has asked not to be named, told how, in a split-second, he managed to grab the 19-year-old woman as she flung herself off a ledge on Ouse Bridge in York shortly before midnight on Wednesday.

The officer, who worked with a colleague and also Yates’s doorman Dave Benson to pull the woman to safety, described the drama as “one of the most intense moments I have ever experienced”.

The three men clung on to the woman for nine minutes until they managed to pull her to safety.

The officer said: “It felt like forever – my arms were really aching after.

“It was a really good team effort with a fantastic result really. We know how dangerous York’s rivers could be – and this really could have ended in tragedy.”

At about 11.45pm, CCTV operators spotted the woman walking halfway along Ouse Bridge. She then climbed on to the bridge and sat on the ledge overlooking the water, the officer said.

He said: “Myself and a colleague were about 30 seconds away on patrol – as soon as we got there we both managed to grab her arms at the exact moment she flung herself forward. It was like a dead weight – we both just clung on. She kept lunging forward and was saying she wanted to kill herself.”

He said Mr Benson had also run over to help and at about 11.55pm, the three men managed to haul the woman over the bridge to safety.

The officer said: “He (Mr Benson) really saved her life as he managed to climb on to the ledge beside her and wedged her in to prevent her pushing forward. Without him we would really have struggled because of the angle she was at.”

Former serviceman Mr Benson, 30, who has been a member of the Yates’ door staff for about two years, said: “I had her hair wrapped round my hand and managed to grab her wrist – when she tried to jump, she nearly took me with her. When it was over, I felt slightly sick and had to take a bit of a step back and think about what had happened, because at one point she was hanging off the side.”

The officer said she was later arrested under the Mental Health Act for her own safety.

Moments before she had climbed on to the bridge the teenager had been refused entry to Yates’s bar for being too intoxicated.

Last year The Press launched its Think, Don’t Swim campaign aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of York’s rivers, especially when alcohol is involved.

Anyone experiencing feelings of depression and contemplating suicide can phone the Samaritans on 020 8394 8300.