A mum-of-two says she will be “forever grateful” to an off-duty paramedic who talked her down from a bridge as she was “ready to jump”.

Lauren Elizabeth, who was battling with mental health issues at the time, stood on top of an overpass in Canterbury at about 11.30pm one night in September 2021.

The 23-year-old was smoking a cigarette and had made up her mind to take her own life as soon as it was finished.

But right at that moment a woman pulled up in a car and managed to talk Lauren down from the edge.

She told KentOnline the heroic paramedic saved her life and is the reason she gets to watch her children, now aged four and six, grow up.

Lauren, who lived in the city at the time, had been struggling with her mental health.

This was exacerbated by her mother being in hospital and issues with an ex-partner.

Recalling that night two years ago, she said: “This was the only way I could think of getting the bad thoughts out of my head.

“I remember standing on the bridge and I was going to jump.

“I was smoking a cigarette and, for me, as soon as it was finished that's when I was going to do it.”

As Lauren took her final drag, she spotted a car pull up behind her.

The vehicle turned out to belong to an off-duty paramedic, who walked over to the young mum.

“If it wasn't for the paramedic who stopped that night, I would have not got the help I needed and get to see my children grow up...”

“She approached and asked if I was OK,” Lauren said.

“I told her I was fine and asked her to leave me alone, but she refused.

“It was all a bit of a blur, but the next thing I saw was the police pull-up. I was in such a state.

“I got in the back of the officer's car and I broke down and told them everything.”

Police took Lauren straight to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

After spending the night there, she was sent to a 48-hour signposting unit in Maidstone, where she was then assessed further.

“I spoke to the mental health team at the William Harvey and they were not prepared to let me leave,” Lauren said.

“I told them if I left there was going to be the same outcome.

“Eventually, I was sent to Maidstone for a 48-hour signposting unit. This is where they assess you and make a decision.

“Once I left Maidstone, I was given support by a mental health crisis team.”

Lauren says she has “turned her life around” and will be “forever grateful to the paramedic who turned up that night”.

She now lives in Ashford with her two children.

While she still has “good days and bad days”, Lauren says she “owes the paramedic everything” for helping her.

She added: “If it wasn't for the paramedic who stopped that night, I would have not got the help I needed and get to see my children grow up.

“I owe her everything.

“It takes a lot for someone to stop and see if I was OK. It's a massive thing, especially if it did not turn out the way they wanted it to.

“I am in a good place right now. Obviously I have good days and bad days, but I’m so much better.”

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