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Tom Warner, 26, a driver with Bacton Transport Services near Stowmarket, said: “I don’t feel like I have done anything special, but other people have told me that not everyone would have done it. The main thing is that the man was got down safely.”

The incident happened on the A14 at a bridge near Kettering early on Thursday, when Mr Warner and another driver, Mark Wilson, of Harleston in Norfolk, saw a man on the bridge.

Mr Wilson pulled up under the bridge and Mr Warner stopped next to him. Mr Warner said: “I said to Mark to ring the police, and that I would talk to him until they got there.”

He went on to the road bridge and spoke to the man, standing well away from him, until police arrived within a few minutes. They were then able to persuade the man to come down.

Mr Warner, who is originally from Ipswich but now lives in Elmswell, has been driving lorries for four years and has been with Bacton for two years.

He said: “It’s not the sort of thing you expect to happen,”, adding he was still getting his head round being given an award by his company.

Mr Wilson, a driver with Bomfords Group in Harleston, said he had stopped the traffic from going under the bridge and prevented “rubberneckers” from pulling up and getting in the way.

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“Other HGV drivers slowed the westbound traffic – this was drivers working together.”

He said he also sent a message to the lorry drivers’ Facebook group about the incident, so that others would know to avoid the bridge.

The two drivers had never met before, but both praised each other’s actions. Mr Wilson said: “Tom Warner is a fantastic driver and a credit to his industry.”

Bacton Transport Services has presented Mr Warner with a “Going the Extra Mile” certificate in recognition of his actions.

Paul Willis, distribution general manager, said: “What he did was fantastic. He could have just kept on driving, but he didn’t.”

He said that in the current climate it was more important than ever for people to act in a caring way. “Going the extra mile is just what he has done.”

A spokeswoman from Northamptonshire Police, said: “The A14 was closed for around 30 minutes on Thursday, November 5 between junction 7 and 8 following concerns for the welfare of a member of the public.

“Officers attended the scene at 5.50am and the incident was dealt with by 6.20am.”

●• If you need help and support, call Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust’s First Response helpline 0808 196 3494 or the Samaritans on 116 123.