UPDATED Putney Bridge was closed in both directions from around approximately 8pm on Friday, with a large emergency service presence on both sides of the bridge.
Multiple police cars, three fire engines, and an ambulance were deployed across both approaches. Two rescue boats, one fire rescue vessel and one lifeboat, were in the water on either side of the bridge. The closure followed concern for a man on the outside of the bridge, with whom police negotiators spoke over a sustained period.
Pedestrians were cleared from the bridge and turned away at both ends. All bus services crossing the bridge were turned around, and traffic built up on both sides with no vehicles able to cross. On a Friday evening, the closure affected routes across southwest London. Putney.news was at the scene.
A long closure into the night
By around 10.52pm, the emergency vehicles had left the scene, but the bridge remained closed. The man was no longer on the outside of the bridge. Police at the scene said the closure was likely to continue through the night.
Drivers were advised to avoid the area and use Wandsworth Bridge as the nearest alternative crossing. Hammersmith Bridge remains under traffic restrictions.
It is the second time in fifteen months that Putney Bridge has been closed by a major emergency response. In March 2025 the bridge was shut for several hours during a morning concern-for-welfare incident.
Thet Met said in a statement on Saturday:
Police were called at 19:06hrs on Friday, 12 June following concern for the safety of a man on Putney Bridge.
Officers attended the scene, alongside the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service.
No arrests were made, the man engaged with officers at the location and Putney Bridge was reopened at 23:08hrs.
If you are affected by any of the issues in this article, the Samaritans can be contacted free, day or night, on 116 123, or by email at jo@samaritans.org.
Do the police really not know there is a pedestrian bridge alongside the tube bridge?
How disproportionate. Some guy wants to jump into the river and the police shut down all of south west London for 4 hours. They did not tell drivers anything. They could have easily waved traffic through on one side of the road while cordoning off the area where the man was stood. The police give the appearance that they enjoy to cause maximum disruption at a time when the public has lost all confidence in them.