AN Ealing Broadway rail worker has been made an MBE for preventing 29 people from committing suicide. 

Rizwan Javed, 33, Elizabeth Line assistant from East London, has saved lives by being attentive and making small talk with vulnerable commuters. 

Javed received his accolade from the King in the New Year Honours.

He recalled being woken up by his mother when he received the honour letter in the post. 

He told the PA news agency: “I was half asleep, but when she told me I had to read it about 10 times to digest it. It was amazing.”

Speaking of his prevention and awareness work, Rizwan said: “This has given me the confidence to take it a step further on a wider scale.”

The rail worker has previously appeared on national TV and shared stories about mental health on his Instagram and Tiktok accounts.

He credits his life-saving knowledge from a Samaritans training course he took almost a decade ago, when he first joined the railway.

The course teaches key pointers to spotting vulnerable people and how to talk them into a point of safety. 

Two days after taking the course, Javed put his training into action by helping someone at the station. In 2018, he won the Samaritans lifesaver award for helping save several people from taking their own life.

Julie Bentley, CEO of Samaritans, said: “Rizwan has become a passionate advocate for Samaritans training.

"His outstanding efforts to support vulnerable people on the railway have undoubtedly inspired many others to join our mission to reduce suicide.” 

You can read the signs and tips to look out for suicide prevention on the Samaritans website and if you need support call them on 116 123.