Negotiators were sent in and a major road was closed off for an hour when a woman threatened to throw herself off the top of a shopping centre.

The incident happened at 7.40pm last night when the woman, who said she wanted to kill herself and was threatening to jump, stood dangerously close to the edge of Victoria Plaza, off Southend High Street.

She had stepped over the railings at the top of the third floor of the centre and was teetering on the edge, overlooking the B&Q car park. A team of skilled police negotiators were called in to talk the woman down from the floor below.

The woman was eventually talked down at 8.40pm and the road was reopened.

Published Monday, June 2, 2003

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