Sergeant Richard Delacour has been praised for his bravery after a dramatic rescue 100ft above a railway line.

He was called to Highcroft Villas, Brighton, where a depressed man in his twenties was threatening to jump 100ft from a wall down on to the track.

Police negotiators spent three hours trying to coax the man down but without success.

So Mr Delacour and a British Transport Police officer donned harnesses and climbed the wall.

They made a grab for the man, struggled with him and held him down on a ledge until colleagues pulled him to safety.

Mr Delacour was today praised for his bravery by Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse in his quarterly report.

Mr Delacour, based at Brighton, said: "I don't feel especially brave - I was just happy to have helped."

Mr Delacour has been awarded a force Certificate of Merit for last November's rescue.

A certificate was also awarded to traffic Sergeant Laurence Culver, who followed and helped arrest five suspects after a robbery at Lloyds TSB in Billingshurst in April.

He followed the offenders' vehicle at high speed through country lanes, giving radio commentary throughout.

When the getaway car crashed he arrested one suspect and helped in a successful search for the other four.