Lynn Crump

Said the following about Claudio Arciprete:

“A woman in distress was spotted by a customer service representative during his routine security sweep of the Heathrow Express (HEx) platforms at Paddington, at around 6.25pm. He alerted duty station manager Claudio Arciprete, who approached the woman with caution, having noted that she looked like she intended to jump onto the tracks.

Claudio also noticed that she was holding something in her hand. He couldn’t see what at first, but on grabbing her hand realised she was holding a blade. To stop her from harming herself, he wrapped his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace, holding her hands apart so that she could not injure herself.

Claudio hugged the woman for 11 minutes until the British Transport Police arrived.

Though it’s the role of all HEx staff to keep all passengers safe and look out for their welfare, it would never be expected of them to put themselves in a position of potential danger, as Claudio was here. The woman was carrying a blade, and it was an act of humanity, not a sense of duty to his role, that prompted Claudio to act in this way. Claudio went above and beyond the call of duty.

Claudio acted on instinct, and said of the incident: “The scary thing was the pain she was in. I could really feel it. She had a shopping bag full of books she said were for her children. I told her: ‘Why are you trying to do this? You are too important, too important to your children.’ Poor woman. Something must have gone very wrong for her.”

Claudio prevented what could have become a serious incident at Paddington from happening and potentially saved this woman's life - he is very deserving of this nomination.“

Brian Timmins

Said the following about Claudio Arciprete:

“Lynn Crump's nomination provides a detailed story of Claudio's situation.

Claudio went above and beyond when physically restraining a female passenger who was a potential suicide victim and also held a sharp weapon.

His calm and professional approach allowed him to communicate with the female until he deemed it necessary to take further action in holding her securely until BTP arrived.

Claudio should be extremely proud of his actions taken. His bravery and commitment avoided an extremely dangerous incident to escalate.

Well done and congratulations Claudio.“