A three-year-old girl was rescued after being dropped from a bridge in what is believed to be an attempted murder-suicide.
The toddler suffered a broken wrist when she fell 30ft after being dropped from Astley Bridge in Bolton.
Officers arrived at the scene in Crompton Way at about 8.30pm on Friday night following reports that a man was on the bridge and making threats about the child.
Specialist police negotiators were also brought in and officers put measures in place to rescue the youngster if she fell.
An officer was already in the water when she was dropped and was able to reach her quickly.
Officers were able to get him out of the water and he was taken to hospital. He sustained minor injuries and has now been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
GMP’s Superintendent Paul Savill said: “Thankfully the little girl will recover from her physical injuries, but the trauma she was put through is heart breaking. My thoughts are with her and he family.
“We have arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder, he will be questioned by police at the earliest opportunity.
“We have a specialist team of negotiators who always try their utmost to resolve these situations without injury and get people the support they need. Sadly on this occasion the man failed to engage, however we had a second team waiting in the water to enable us to rescue the child within seconds of her entering the water.
“We will now ensure that the little girl and her family have all the support going forward, to help her make a full recovery.”
The matter has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission