The 18-year-old spent nearly three hours on the roof of Caledonian House in Tatton Street after a passerby raised the alarm at midnight on Saturday.

"He had been there for some time when we arrived and it was obvious he had things on his mind," said Sgt Kevin Fryer.

"He just stood on the roof and stayed quiet."

Knutsford fireman Steve Buckley spent more than an hour on the roof in sub-zero temperatures with the young man, before coaxing him down.

"When I first went up he seemed quite distressed and it did cross my mind that he would jump, but as I talked to him he seemed to calm down," said Mr Buckley yesterday.

"We just talked about where he'd been and nice things he had done. I just tried to make him see the happier side to life."

As they talked, Mr Buckley gave the teenager a balaclava to help keep him warm.

"I was worried he might get hypothermia because it was so cold," said Mr Buckley.

The young man was taken by ambulance to Macclesfield Hospital where he was released after a check-up.

Yesterday (Tuesday), a Samaritan said young men were more at risk of suicide and depression because they had a tendency to bottle up their feelings.

"Young men have a macho image to live up to and that makes it hard for them to talk about how they are really feeling," she said. "And the festive season really brings it home for some people who try to block it out during the year."