The Bradford nurse who married train driver who saved her life

Dave, who works for train operator Northern, remembers getting out of his cab, “kneeling down” in front of Charlotte and introducing himself.

He told her they would talk things through “until you feel comfortable enough” to get onto the train, where she could be taken to safety.

The pair talked for half an hour, by which time Charlotte, though still distressed, agreed to get into the cab. She was taken to Skipton Station and left in the care of the police.

The following day, Charlotte was desperate to find the man who had been so kind to her and issued an appeal on a local Facebook group for anyone who worked for Northern who might be able to put her in touch.

“I’d have understood if he didn’t want to hear from me, but I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for giving me the time and for treating me like I was human being,” she says.

Her plea was successful and after Charlotte was given Dave’s number by one of his colleagues who had seen the appeal, she sent him a text.

Dave, who is now 47, was equally relieved to hear from her.

He says he had “never had the opportunity” to get off the train and talk to someone in crisis before.

“I needed to know she was all right,” he explains. “I’d contacted police to try to find out what happened to her and just wanted to make sure she was safe.

“I felt like I’d had a duty to make sure she was all right. We’d had that rapport built by the side of the track. It was just nice to be able to make that difference to somebody.”