A young couple who coaxed a man off Deal’s railway tracks as he tried to take his own life have been commended by the mayor.

Hannah Dunn, 20, and Ellis Cureton, 18, were walking to Miss Dunn’s home in Mill Hill, on Father’s Day (Sunday, June 21), when they saw a van try to stop in the middle of on the tracks in Albert Road, while the safety barriers were coming down.

Because of the size of the vehicle, the barriers failed to fall and the van moved on.

But once over the tracks, the driver abandoned his vehicle, hopped over the barriers and stood in the middle of them.

Miss Dunn, a carer at Ami Lodge in Deal, said: “I thought something was wrong with his van when I saw it stop on the track.”

Realising the seriousness of the situation she phoned the police while her boyfriend slowly approached the man.

Mr Cureton, of Friends Close, said: “He was on the tracks and I was talking to him for ages.

“I’ve been through mental health issues myself. I told him nothing is worth killing himself over.”

The man, whose identity is not known, had been at a family event and was talking about his relatives. The couple tried to reassure him. Throughout the ordeal, a train was waiting at Deal station but was instructed not to move by the signal operator, who could see what was going on.

In time, the man moved off the tracks and Mr Cureton continued to chat to him while sitting on a wall. When police arrived about 20 minutes later, the couple left and the man thanked them for what they had done.

Hearing about what had happened, Deal mayor Cllr Adrian Friend decided he wanted to meet Miss Dunn and Mr Cureton. He invited them to Deal Town Hall on Friday and gave them a certificate and a town crest badge.

He said: “What they have done is absolutely amazing. People are always running young people down and never saying what the good things are.”

He quoted poet Criss Jami: “In a society where dirt sells, for every good story told as it is, you will hear the whole of that day’s 10 bad stories sensationalised; although in reality, it could be that 100 good deeds happened that day which went unsung.”

He told the couple: “You are a credit to youngsters today. What you did was really outstanding and I commend you for it.”

Miss Dunn’s parents Carl and Chrissi, who were at the presentation, expressed how proud they were. Mr Dunn said: “I’m proud as punch. Most people would be too nervous to stop and would just walk by.”

Mrs Dunn said: “It’s nice to know you’ve brought your kids up to do the right thing.”

Miss Dunn has a message for the man, in the hope he might read it.

She said: “We hope you have got the help you need and we’d like you to remember there is always a reason not to give up.”

Cllr Friend has urged more people to come forward to show the good deeds of young people.