Moment former Popstars: The Rivals finalist stops his van to save the life of a man hanging by his hands from overhead bridge
This is the dramatic moment a hero musician saved a vulnerable man from taking his own life.Matt Johnson, who appeared in the hit ITV series Pop Stars: The Rivals, sprung into action after spotting the man desperately hanging by his fingertips from a footbridge over a busy road in Flintshire, North Wales.The 39-year-old quickly parked his VW Transporter van underneath and – 20 seconds later – the man dropped onto it's top.Police and firefighters arrived a few minutes later and climbed onto his van to help the man to safety.Matt, a singer and acoustic guitarist, posted footage from his dashcam about the 'crazy' incident onto Facebook and Instagram to raise awareness for Men's Mental Health Month.He said his insurance company say he is liable to pay for the damage to his van unless North Wales Fire and Rescue agree to claim on their insurers on his behalf.Despite potentially being out of pocket, Matt said he would do the same thing again.'I do not regret it,' he said. 'I am just crossing my fingers the emergency services can help me fix my roof.'The incident temporarily closed the B5129 Chester Road West, in Queensferry, last week. Matt raced into action after spotting the man dangling over the busy road in Queensferry Singer Matt Johnson has been hailed a hero for saving the vulnerable man's life Matt (left) was part of the winning boy band, One True Voice, in the 2002 ITV series Pop Stars: The RivalsThe married father-of-three said: 'Something crazy happened last week. I was sat at the traffic lights and looked left to see a man hanging from a bridge by his hands. 'There were no emergency services around and I could only presume he was sadly looking to take his life.'The drop was high enough to shatter your legs, leave you paralysed or worse. I thought he maybe had a minute left to hold on.'My VW Transporter is just over 2 metres high, so I decided to park under him to give him a chance if he fell. 'Within twenty seconds he dropped onto my van. He was clearly in a very vulnerable state.'The emergency services arrived about three minutes later, climbed onto my van and helped him.'Hundreds of people have since commented on Matt's post, praising his actions.Several urged him to set up a fundraising page online to help pay for the repairs. After posting the dramatic incident on Facebook and Instagram, hundreds of people commented on the post, thanking Matt for stepping in and helping save the man's lifeSue Grave wrote: 'What an amazing selfless thing to do. I hope you get the support from the fire service for your roof repair. More people like you needed in this world.'Cheryl Winmill said: 'What an absolutely incredible act of selflessness, with moments to spare. 'I hope that man gets all the help he needs and that you also have the recognition of your actions by the relevant authorities. You are a hero.'While David Parkinson, who said he witnessed the incident, told him: 'It all happened so quick. If it wasn't for your quick thinking it could have ended very different.'Matt said that, although his insurance firm, Direct Line, had been 'amazing,' the situation is 'rare' and there is 'no clear process' for covering his costs.'I was hoping the fire service or the police might help with the repair, as once they were on top of my van I presumed they would take responsibility,' he said.'Direct Line have been amazing and have offered to waive my excess and protect my no claims, but it will still go down as a fault on me unless the emergency services offer help.'So far, North Wales Police and the fire service have not contacted me once. No update on me, my van or the man.'My insurer says this situation is rare and there is no clear process, but they hope the fire service insurance company will help with the repair.'Despite chasing North Wales police via 101, Matt said he has heard nothing.'It is what it is at the end of the day,' he said. 'I would do it again. I do not regret it.'Unfortunately, I don't know his name or what happened after I left the incident. 'The police wanted the road reopened quickly so once it was established that my involvement was over, I left. 'I left all my details with the police, but I've never heard a response.'I called 101 last week and asked what happened to him but they never called me back.'Matt, from Ewloe, North Wales, performed in Les Miserables, in the West End as a child and auditioned for the ITV1 programme aged 16 in 2002. He won a place in the boy band, One True Voice, via a public vote.Their 'rival' girl band in the show were Girls Aloud, who beat One True Voice to the coveted Christmas Number 1 spot with their debut hit Sound of the Underground.But while Girls Aloud went on to become one of the biggest selling girl bands in UK history, selling over four million records, One True Voice disbanded the following year.Matt, who has more than 250million streams on Spotify, writes his own music but also performs at weddings and specialises in covering acoustic hits of other artists, which he posts on YouTube.Direct Line, North Wales Police and North Wales Fire and Rescue were contacted for comment.
