Dorking restaurant manager risks life to stop death plunge

A heroic restaurant manager risked his life to stop a drunk man plunging to his death from a rooftop.

Brave Jalal Shamsuddin clung on to a drainpipe and diced with death by dragging himself onto a roof 35ft above the ground.

A man, thought to be homeless, suffered a broken leg and got stuck on the roof behind Zafron's restaurant at 11.30pm on Saturday.

It is thought the man, known locally as 'Pete', had been on a higher roof but jumped between roofs and fell.

Zafron's manager Mr Shamsuddin, 23, said: "I could hear someone shouting and couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"I went outside behind the restaurant and could see a hand over the edge of the roof. It was dark and frightening because I didn't know why he was up there."

Mr Shamsuddin climbed out of a top-floor window and used a drainpipe to haul himself onto the roof.

He said: "It was quite scary up there because it was really high and there were no lights.

"I could see he was in a bad way. His leg was folded over it was really badly broken. He seemed in a lot of pain but was quite drunk.

"He was rolling about and nearly fell off. I had to reach out and grab him to stop him going over the edge.

"I kept saying 'Don't move! Don't move!' If he'd fallen I'm sure he would have died."

Mr Shamsuddin rang 999 and gave water to the man before firefighters used an aerial platform ladder to finally rescue 'Pete' at 1.30am.

Mr Shamsuddin said: "It is really hard to access where he was trapped. The firefighters had to get a ladder from the front of the shop in the High Street and across the roof to the back.

"I thought they were going to need a helicopter to take him away."

Alan Dana, of Dorking Kebab, said: "Police closed the road and it took over an hour to get the man down."

The man was still believed to be at the Royal Surrey Hospital, Guildford, as the Advertiser went to press.