Traffic chaos after man climbs pylon
MACCLESFIELD town centre came to a standstill after a man climbed to the top of a pylon causing traffic chaos and long tailbacks for drivers.
Around 20 emergency vehicles attended the scene when the man climbed to the top of the pylon near to AstraZeneca at Hurdsfield, next to Middlewood Way and Silk Road on Wednesday, January 20.
Police called in a negotiator to talk to the man and urge him to climb back down.
They were first alerted at 7.35am and it wasn’t until 11am that the man agreed to climb down from the pylon.
He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital.
Police cordoned off the area and shut lanes of Middlewood Way from the roundabout at Bollington Road to the junction of Hulley Road while they dealt with the situation.
Officers also shut off the Silk Road, redirecting vehicles and causing long tailbacks for drivers in the morning rush hour.
Express readers complained about being held up by the queues.
Alex Entwistle, 35, who was one of those caught in traffic on his way to work, told the Express: “I’ve never seen so many response vehicles in one place.”
Graham Lewis, 30, who works at AstraZeneca as a scaffolder, said: “I’m a scaffolder so I’m used to climbing like that, but I can’t believe he got up to the top of the pylon.”
A cyclist who did not want to be named, said: “I couldn’t believe he’d climbed right up to the top.
“I don’t know how he got round the barbed wire. I’ve never seen anyone climb a pylon like that before.
“If he’d fallen would have been it.”
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The pylon’s electricity supply was turned off for safety.
A spokesman for National Grid, which is responsible for the pylon, said engineers attended to check the barbed wire netting at the base of the pylon.
She said: “We strongly discourage people to climb pylons of all types. It’s extremely dangerous.
“He would have passed close to high voltage electricity cables which pose a threat to life.” ●● A PoLICE spokesman said a 36-year-old man from Bollington has been summonsed to appear at court to be charged with a public nuisance offence.