Three volunteer police officers helped a man intent on harming himself and took him to hospital to get the help he needs.

S/Insp Fraser MacLeod, SC Holmes and SC Roder were finishing a volunteer duty last week when they were called with concerns about a man in Chelmsford.

The officers made their way to the scene and were met with a distressed man in mental health crisis who told them he wanted to harm himself.

After an hour of reassuring the man that they were there to help and calmly chatting with him, the officers were able to take the man to hospital to get the help he needed.

The three officers stayed with the man until he was seen by hospital staff.

S/Insp Fraser MacLeod said: “I’m glad we were able to get the man the help he needed and I’m proud of SC Holmes and SC Roder for their support, advice and patience throughout the incident.”

Special Constables have the same policing powers and uniforms as regular police officers but volunteer their time around their busy lives to help others.

They each volunteer a minimum of 16 hours each month to respond to incidents and carry out high visibility patrols alongside regular police officers.