An assistant at a Hertfordshire railway station is among those recognised for her efforts last year, after she helped save the lives of five people.

Govia Thameslink's Sarah was recognised for her lifesaving actions during five separate incidents that took place in the county last year.

On Blue Monday (January 18), GTR is recognising 60 employees who have been commended for rescuing vulnerable people.

All five people Sarah helped were young women, threatening to take their own lives for a number of reasons.

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"All five of the people I helped were women in their 20s," Sarah said.

"One, we learned later, was just out of rehab. She had got on the wrong train and was lost. My colleague stopped her from taking her own life, and between us we managed to persuade her to sit in the manager’s office for safety."

“I tried to engage with another woman who was threatening to take her life, and at least got her giving one-word answers to my questions. But I have to admit I had to resort to a lie to persuade her to come to a safe place with me until the police arrived – I told her that her brother was waiting for her upstairs.”

Across the GTR network, there were 426 interventions by staff - either through conversations or physical intervention when someone tried to take their own life. The company says there has been a 57 per cent increase in lifesaving interventions since 2019.

Sarah also helped when a third woman made two separate attempts on her life on the same night. At around 8pm, colleagues James and Tony together stopped her first attempt - but she was taken to hospital, self-discharged and returned to the station in disguise at around 1.45am.

“It was a tough experience,” says Sarah, “but GTR had arranged a Samaritans’ training course when I started the job 0 which emphasised that trying to intervene does work, just by engaging and talking.

"All my colleagues have had similar experiences and that brings us very close, almost like a family, so we support each other.”