Award for call handler who calmed distressed man threatening to jump from top of Birmingham hotel

Andrew Astbury took the call in which the distressed man stated he was drunk.

Mr Astbury - who is based in West Bromwich - reassured the caller, and while keeping the man talking, he discovered the caller was on the top of a hotel in Birmingham and was intent on jumping from it.

Due to the rapport built up between Andrew and the caller, the man agreed to come down from the building and meet police officers at the scene.

Following the incident in July of last year, the emergency call handler who was last week presented with an award by West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson.

A citation delivered before the presentation, read: "Andrew remained in control throughout the call and drilled down into the detail to establish the exact location of the increasingly distressed caller, continually steering the conversation on a positive path.

"The key here from listening to the call is that Andrew remained focused, constantly reassuring the caller with a calm approach and through his delicate questioning the man came down - at the end of the call the man repeatedly thanked Andrew for his help.

"Andrew delivered an excellent standard of service to a very vulnerable member of the community and continues to do so in an environment which can be very demanding."