'Hero' lorry driver climbs onto truck to save man hanging from M1 bridge

Dan Shillito, 34, was seen in a viral video springing into action to help a man who has hanging off a bridge on the M1 - by driving his truck undeath to lessen his fall.

He then hoisted himself on top of his container and put the man's legs over his shoulders before he was eventuallly brought to safety.

His actions were caught on video from other motorists leading to widespread praise for his bravery and quick thinking.

The father-of-two from Hull, who has since been in touch with the man's grateful family, said the incident, which took place on Saturday (Sept 6) at around 7pm, as a "crazy whirlwind".

But Dan said he "would do it again in a heartbeat".

He added: "I'm happy he survived as it could have been a lot lot worse".

On his first day back at work in two weeks, Dan recalled heading down the M1 to Donnington services where he planned to stop over for the night.

After taking a quick break at Woodall services, when he saw some notice boards on the motorway stating there was an incident, and drivers had to reduce their speeds to 20mph.

Dan said: "As I was approaching a bridge, everyone's cars started stopping - there were three cars in lane one.

"There was a traffic officer on other side on the road - who was slowing down traffic.

"The traffic officer then jumped over central reservation and was making everyone stop – as i stopped I looked over to the cars thinking there had been a car accident.

"I was a bit confused, but as I was watching the traffic officer, I saw him walking over to the bridge.

"That's when I saw a guy’s legs dangling from the bridge."

Dan admitted he barely had a second to think before he sprang into action in an attempt to help.

He said: "I don't know what it was, I just thought - if I pull my truck underneath the guy - then if he falls he'll only fall on top of my container, which a lot higher than the ground."

Dan shouted his idea to the traffic officer - who swiftly replied it was 'a good idea'.

The heroic lorry driver then pulled forwards underneath the guy - which is when he noticed the man was hanging from his arms from the bridge.

Dan explained how there were three to four police officers all holding onto the man from the railings.

He said: "The officers said to me, 'can you hold onto him?'

"So I ran round other side of the truck, got in-between my truck and trailer's metal frames, hoisted myself up onto the container, then put the guys legs on my shoulders.

"It was the first time I had been ontop of the container - it's really high! I had certainly never done that before.

"But I did it to support him, and I held him up as long as I could.

"The guy was a bit intoxicated, but he was saying 'thank you driver', I just replied saying 'it's all alright, don't worry about it - it's fine!'

"It was crazy - you can't even put a time frame on it."

Dan confessed he held the man up for a while - but cannot recall how long it was.

A few more officers then came onto the bridge to assist - but Dan was concerned if they dropped the man, he could still jump off the container, or throw Dan off.

Dan said police officers then brought out a rope to wrap around the man - in a bid to support his weight.

Dan explained: "The police officers brought a rope - they were trying to wrap it round him to support his weight so he wouldn't fall.

"But a lot of people just saw the guys' legs and a rope and probably presumed he was hanging himself.

"But he was hanging from his arms and the rope was the police trying to hoist him down safely.

"There was l lot of traffic.

"As far as I could see there were cars."

Eventually, the police took over and managed to get the man down on the ground safely.

Dan said: " After it all finished, the guy got lowered down and was then taken into an ambulance.

"The police took details off me and asked if I was ok - but it was when I drove away the adrenaline hit me."

Dan said the event did not sink in until around a day later - which is when he realised someone had filmed the event, and it had amassed thousands of views.

He said: "I couldn't process it at first.

"But then I saw it had been recorded I got all these messages - that's when it started sinking in.

"I realised that this has meant quite a lot to people, especially people that have been in similar situations, with family members and friends doing similar things.

"I have heard from terrible stories - I'm just happy he survived it as it could have been a lot lot worse."

The son of the man who tried to jump from the bridge even contacted Dan to say thank you.

Dan said: "He told me thank you for saving his Dad - and I said I would do it again if I could, and I just hope he's alright."