A train driver has spoken about the day he saved a young man, centimetres away from jumping in front of a train.

Adam Langley, 32, who lives in West Barnes Lane, Raynes Park, was on his way to work as a South West Trains driver in November last year when he saw a man leaning against a lampost with his head in his hands on the platform at Raynes Park station.

He said: "I thought that something wasn’t right, so I stayed near him to keep an eye on him.

"A train came through the station without stopping and he went to the edge of the platform, but I pulled him back.

"He was literally about a centimetre or less from the edge. His feet were right by the edge when I managed to grab him."

Mr Langley has won an award from the Stagecoach Group Champions Awards for his act of compassion.

Wimbledon Times:

Mr Langley prevented the suicide attempt at Raynes Park Station

He managed to persuade the man, who was in his early twenties, to walk further down the platform with him, where the two sat together and talked until the British Transport Police arrived.

Mr Langley said: "We talked about what he had been through and how he felt.

"We went practically through his whole life, and the bad stuff that had happened to him from childhood up to the point that I had stopped him jumping.

"I don’t really want to say too much about what he told me, but it was very bad.

"I felt for him. It wasn’t a nice place he was in, or had been in."

The grandmother of the man sent a letter to Mr Langley to thank him for what he had done, and update him on her grandson’s condition, who also sent a thank you card to the train driver.

Mr Langley’s act of compassion was recognised at the Stagecoach Group Champions Awards on November 6, when he won the Gold Safety Champion award.

The South West Trains driver described himself as "surprised" that he had even been nominated for the award.

He said: "I’m just thankful I could be there that day to be honest.

"I hope that I’ve helped him to turn his life around."

As part of the partnership with Network Rail to reduce suicides on the railways, the Samaritans run training courses for railway staff to enable them to identify people at risk and intervene to help them.

Since the partnership began in 2010 more than 10,000 railway staff have been trained. 

Samaritans also runs Trauma Support Training courses for driver managers and union reps so that they can assist staff after a traumatic incident.

Since 2010, the charity has run more than 800 courses across Britain. 

For more information, go to www.samaritans.org