A MAN had to be "talked down" from a railway bridge on Monday night (MAY 16).

Police were forced to shut Southbourne Road and the adjacent public over-rail footpath shortly after 9.15pm.

The incident meant South West Trains had to suspend services from Bournemouth to Brockenhurst for an hour-and-a-half while Dorset Police dealt with the man, believed to have been in his 20s.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: "We were called at 9.16pm to reports of concerns for welfare of a man aged in his 20s on a bridge in Southbourne Road.

"A road closure was put in place while officers dealt with the incident.

"The man was talked down from the bridge by police negotiators and was given the appropriate care."

The spokesman was unable to confirm if the man in question had threatened to jump, or had posed any direct threat to officers at the scene.

They were supported by paramedics, and informed British Transport Police of the situation, which concluded at around 10.40pm.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “Our officers were called to a bridge close on Monday following concerns for a man’s welfare.

“The call came into police at 9.25pm.

“Officers alongside colleagues from Dorset Police as well as paramedics from South Western Ambulance Service attended. A 20-year-old man was taken to a place of safety.”

A spokesperson for Stagecoach Group, operator of South West Trains, added: "There was a trespass incident close to Christchurch last night shortly after 9.30pm. For a short time we were unable to run trains into Bournemouth as a precautionary measure. The line had reopened by 11pm."

A spokesman for the South Western Ambulance Service said that paramedics were called but only as a precautionary measure and the man received no treatment, and was not transported to hospital.