Staff save suicide-bid man on scaffolding

A man who tried to commit suicide by hanging himself off scaffolding in front of a London restaurant was saved by three members of staff.

Waiter Michael Jones at the Savoy Group's Simpson's-in-the-Strand spotted the man standing on the 30ft high scaffolding last Friday evening.

At first he thought the man was a builder, but then he noticed rope around his neck and saw the man throw himself off the platform.

Restaurant manager Robin Easton, head waiter Pedro Silva, and Jones climbed on to the platform through a first-floor window and pulled the dangling man in.

Easton said: "He was hanging on the outside of the scaffolding and his face had gone purple. We cut the rope from his neck. There was no pulse."

Silva administered cardiac massage and Easton gave the man mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The man is now in St Thomas' hospital after being discharged from intensive care.