TV presenter Dermot O’Leary fought back tears during an emotional interview on This Morning. On Thursday, the ITV host welcomed “hero” teenagers Freddie Corbett, 15, and Harley Hollingworth, 16, to the show.
The brave pair had saved a distressed man at Bolton-upon-Dearne station in South Yorkshire on Saturday, leaping onto the railway tracks just seconds before a train arrived.
Freddie recounted the harrowing experience to Dermot and co-host Josie Gibson.
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“We saw a man sleeping in a sleeping bag, and I heard a train coming. He wandered over to the tracks and got on them. I walked over and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ He replied, ‘I’m killing myself tonight.'”
Without hesitation, Freddie risked his own safety and jumped onto the tracks. “He pushed past me and started walking toward the train, and I said, ‘You’re not doing that, mate.’ I picked him up and jumped him over to the side.”
Freddie continued, “I got Harley to come over, and we dragged him to the shelter, pinning him down for about an hour until help arrived. We talked to him about what had been going on.”
Dermot praised the boys for their bravery. “It’s one thing to help someone, but you physically had to restrain this guy. When he pushed past you, what were you thinking?”
Freddie responded, “I was just like, ‘I can’t let him die.’ I’m putting myself at risk, but it’s not just him and it’s not just me.”
He added, “You don’t know what other people are going through. You should always ask and check up on people, even if you don’t know them, if you think they are going through stuff.”
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