A POLICEMAN from Settle has been put forward for an award after talking a man out of throwing himself 270 feet from a Dales beauty spot.

PC David Burgess spent an hour sitting just feet from the edge of Malham Cove, persuading a 53-year-old man from Bradford not to take his own life.

The man - who was admitted to a mental health unit - had already thrown his bicycle over and was pacing backwards and forward towards the lip of the limestone crag.

Thirty five year old PC Burgess, who has been in the force for 12 years, has now been nominated by his sergeant for a Chief Constable’s commendation.

PC Burgess was first on the scene of the August 5 incident after a member of the public dialled 999.

Sgt Steve Scott said: “If PC Burgess had not acted in such a calm and collected way, there is no doubt the outcome would have been very different.”