Scott Goodson, Duty Team Leader at Grantham Station, has been recognised with a Lifesaver Award by London North Eastern Railway after he assisted a distressed member of the public.

Back in August 2020, Scott was on duty at Grantham when he saw a person moving towards the edge of the platform.

Scott made his way to the area and tried to engage in conversation with them, but soon realised how vulnerable they were.

He continued to talk to them calmly and invited them for a cup of tea, and it was this invitation that persuaded the individual away from the edge and into the safety of the station building.

Realising that help was needed, Scott contacted the local crisis team and found out that the individual was actually reported as missing. Scott called the police who arrived at Grantham Station and were able to provide longer-term support.

Upon investigation, the CCTV footage showed that the individual’s actions meant they could have been a very sad outcome indeed, and Scott had undoubtedly made a very important intervention.

Looking back on the event, Scott, who has worked for LNER for two years, said: “A combination of experience, training and most importantly my instincts told me I needed to check on the person to see if they were okay. It’s frightening to think about what could have occurred if I hadn’t done such a simple thing as starting a conversation.”

Claire Ansley, Director of Customer Experience at LNER, said: “It is a sad fact that the railway is no stranger to the worst effects of mental ill health. LNER works closely with organisations such as Samaritans and our charity partner the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) which works to prevent suicide, to raise awareness of mental health and to deliver training to our teams about how to manage situations such as the one encountered by Scott.”

“Thankfully on this occasion, Scott’s awareness and composure meant he was able to save a life and we felt it was important to recognise his actions with this Lifesaver Award. His experience is a brilliant example of how we must all look after ourselves but also those around us.”

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