POLICE have praised a woman who helped prevent a man from jumping from the Merrywalks multi-storey car park on Sunday afternoon.

Emergency services attended the Merrywalks Shopping Centre in Stroud on Sunday afternoon following concerns that a man was planning to jump from the top level car park.

Police were called around 1.25pm after a man was spotted sitting on the wall facing Rowcroft Retreat.

A woman was trying to keep him calm.

Officers attended and a police negotiator was called in along with an ambulance.

At 2.25pm the man, from Dursley, came down unharmed and was assessed by paramedics.

He was taken to a mental health facility for check-ups.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire police said: "We would like to commend the actions and bravery of the woman who tried to calm the man down and prevent him from jumping."

Rowcroft Retreat was cordoned off during the incident.