Two passers-by who stopped a man jumping off a motorway bridge have been praised by police.

Nightclub owner Reg Howe and judo champ Roland Newson risked their own lives to prevent the 52-year-old man from taking his own life.

Mr Howe kept the man talking as they waited for the police to arrive, while judo expert Mr Newson used his martial arts skills to throw him to safety.

The man was trying to leap on to the M40 from the bridge between Twyford and Kings Sutton in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Mr Howe, the owner of Confessions in South Bar, was first on the scene.

He said: "I was driving home to Kings Sutton at about 3am when I saw this guy with one leg over the bridge railings.

"He was drunk and had a big bottle of whisky in his hand and I thought he was going to jump.

"I stopped and tried to talk him out of it.

"The motorway was still busy and I was worried both for his own safety and for drivers on the road below.

"I was there for about five minutes and was talking to him and calling the police at the same time.

"Then another car stopped and a guy who said he was a judo expert came to help.

"I kept talking and after 10 minutes or so the other guy managed to pull the man to safety."

The other man was Roland Newson, a former Banbury hairdresser, who now lives in France, and was back in Banbury to visit his parents.

He said: "I had just dropped a friend off in Charlton and was heading back to town.

"I passed two people on the bridge, one with a bottle of whisky and looking as though he was trying to jump.

"I thought about it and realised the potential danger to drivers on the M40 either from the man himself going through a windscreen, or his whisky bottle doing the same.

"I turned round and went back, and the man I now know as Reg explained the situation. I decided to use my judo skills if the chance came.

"Reg kept him talking and I waited for an opportunity to grab the man and pull him back. The man had a walkman and one of the earpieces came out and distracted him.

"As he looked down, I caught his arm and judo-threw him to safety."

"A few minutes later the police arrived."

Tim Wiseman, spokesman for Thames Valley Police, said: "The man making the suicide attempt had been reported missing from home about 20 minutes before we received the call from Mr Howe.

"When officers arrived the man was swearing, was hostile, and wanted to jump. He was taken to the Horton Hospital in Banbury.

"Mr Howe and Mr Newson acted bravely and no doubt saved the man's life.

"They also prevented a possible tragedy on the M40.

"They put themselves in danger. If things had gone wrong, the man could have taken either or both of them with him."