Woman dies months after reunion with train driver who saved her from suicide

A young woman who was reunited with the train driver who saved her from a suicide attempt has died just months later.

Northamptonshire Police have confirmed staff member and widely lauded mental health campaigner Liv Pontin died yesterday.

Liv had been saved by train driver Ashley John from a suicide bid in March 2017.

She had been about to throw herself on the tracks at a London train station when Ashley scared her into a rethink by repeatedly sounding his horn.

Ashely had only been in his second day on the job.

The new driver leapt off the train once it came to a halt to comfort Liv and convinced her not to take her own life.

Earlier this year the pair were brought together in an emotion reunion – embracing on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, aired this January. Liv posted excitedly about filming the documentary in October.


Liv had been battling mental health problems for a long time, according to her blog posts.

But after the train driver saved her life she had been helping police with mental health awareness work, and was active on social media, writing about her own suicide bid in hopes of helping others.

She also blogged about her own mental health progress, about her struggles with an eating disorder, and her work on police mental health advocacy, helping officers in the force.

In a tweet, Northamptonshire Police confirmed her death today. The force said she was a "valued" police colleague.

The force wrote: "Although Live had only been party of the Northants Police family for a short time, she will be much missed by all those who worked with her. RIP Liv."

A crowdfunding page set up in her memory called Liv "one of the most honest, kind hearted people you could imagine you'd meet".


Only recently she had been posting on social media about her pride in her advocacy work.

She posted a letter from Rail Minister Andrew Jones on March 22 thanking her for her "bravery" in sharing her experience of her suicide attempt.

The JustGiving page is seeking to raise £500 for the young woman who is credited with using her own mental health struggles to support and educate police officers.

The page, created by police news site founder Trevor Sherwood, of Police Hour, offered condolences to Liv's father and boyfriend. 

If you need to speak to someone, Samaritans are available 24/7 by calling 116 123

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