PC Andy Rigby, 38, spotted the 47-year-old woman perched on the wrong side of the Mersey railings while on patrol in south Liverpool last week.

The woman, described as "vulnerable", had gone missing from a hospital at around lunchtime last Wednesday (March 10), sparking a force-wide search - which included the deployment of the police helicopter and the coastguard's inshore rescue boat.

Police intelligence had suggested that the woman may have been intending to harm herself.

After her description was circulated to all patrols, a man cycling along the river front reported seeing a woman walking on the wrong side of the guard railing at about 7pm.

The first policeman at the scene was neighbourhood patrol officer PC Rigby, a former Widnes Rugby Union player.

He said: "I got a call over the radio and when I got there a bloke on a bike told me where he had last seen her. When I got to her, several passers-by were talking to her just to keep her from jumping. I just started talking to her, asking what her name was and where she was from, and asking if she would come back over the railings.

"She seemed very distressed and the river was very deep with the tide just started going out. It was also pitch black on the water and very cold so I offered her my jacket. It all happened in a second but, as she took it, it seemed like she was going to try to push away from the railing again so I took hold of her and managed, with help of several passers-by, to get her back over."

The woman was given medical attention at the scene before being reunited with her worried family at the hospital.

PC Rigby, a dad-of-four from Sutton Heath, who has been a police officer for five years and is also a Royal Navy reservist, added: "It was all over in seconds. I'm just pleased I got to her and that there were people around who could help. Officers from all around the Force had been looking for her all afternoon so we are all pleased that she is back with her family."

Chief Inspector Geoff Cheshire from the Liverpool South Command Team, singled out PC Rigby for praise but also gave a pat on the back to the other officers involved in the search.

He said: "Incidents like this are incredibly challenging for officers to deal with - even with the training constables receive. I'm really impressed with the way PC Rigby managed to establish a rapport with the woman before bringing her to safety.

"He acted decisively, despite initially being on his own, and ensured that the efforts of many officers across the force did not end in tragedy for the woman and her family."