Two teenage boys are being called “angels” after leaping onto railway tracks to rescue a man in distress just seconds before a train pulled in. 

Freddie Corbett, 15, and Harley Hollingworth, 16, spotted the man in a sleeping bag on the platform at Bolton upon Dearne in South Yorkshire on Saturday night.

They were waiting for the last train home with Freddie’s 11pm curfew fast approaching when the man jumped onto the tracks. The boys heard him say he was going to kill himself.

“Freddie said, ‘You’re not doing that, mate’, and without even thinking leapt onto the tracks with a train coming,” said his mother Jill Corbett to Sky News.

“Between them, they managed to get this guy off the track and pin him down until somebody else came to help.”

Two girls were also on the platform and called the police. Then, the driver of the oncoming train reversed back and told the boys that help was coming.

“In the meantime, Freddie and Harley had been talking to this gentleman and having a bit of a heart-to-heart and finding out what had been happening in his life.”

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Once the man’s care was taken over by police, Network Rail employee Gary Robinson dropped the teenagers back home.

“Imagine my surprise. I’d been wondering where the blinking heck Freddie was all night, not answering his phone, when I opened the door to somebody in a bright orange boiler suit,” said Mrs Corbett.

“We are extremely proud,” she added.

Freddie got a “lecturing from his granny” for jumping in front of a train but told his mum he “would do it again if he were faced with the same situation tomorrow”.

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“I wasn’t worried about the train,” said Harley to the Daily Mirror. “I just wanted to make sure Freddie got him off the tracks. We could see the train’s headlights coming and it’s not a very long bend.”

The Network Rail employee Gary Robinson posted about the incident on social media.

“Called out tonight to a male with intent to self harm on the railway,” he wrote.

“These two lads were his angels! Dragged him off the railway… sat with him talking ’til I got there and make no mistake, saved his life!”

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“It hasn’t surprised me,” said Mrs Corbett, Freddie’s mum.

“He is an extremely caring boy. He’s one of the lads, but at the same time, he is the first guy to be there if any of his friends ever needed him.

“If any of us ever need him, if I’ve ever been upset about anything, he’s there. He’s just special.”

“[It’s] not every day you can say your son is a hero,” posted Freddie’s dad Billy on social media, while Harley’s dad Dale said he was “proud as punch”.

Hundreds of people have praised the boys for their bravery.

“This is amazing, two young men saving a life!” said one Facebook user.

“Well done [Harley’s mother] for fetching a good lad up. Two little angels they are,” said another.

Although the reaction has been “overwhelming” for the teenagers and they are very concerned for the man they saved, their teenage habits remain strong.

“They both slept at our house last night and didn’t get up until midday,” said Mrs Corbett.

“They’re just oblivious. Anxiety is going through the roof in the house but Freddie and Harley are fast asleep!”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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