HEIGHT OF MADNESS
Daredevils scale 450ft Severn Bridge ...without safety gear
HUNDREDS of feet above a motorway, a youth scales an icy cable on one of Britain’s tallest bridges.
He and nine other daredevils have no safety equipment for their reckless stunt in high winds on the Severn Bridge.
The gang reached the top of the bridge – its towers are nearly 450ft above sea level – and posted footage of the climb on YouTube. On it, they are heard laughing at the police who have had to halt traffic on the M48 below.
One is even filmed dangling off the edge of one of the bridge’s two towers, clinging on to the icy structure with nothing but his bare hands. Despite risking their lives on Saturday, the youths were let off by police and merely offered ‘words of advice’.
However, Highways England, which runs the bridge connecting England and Wales, vowed to prosecute.
The 17-minute climb video, filmed on drones and cameras, also shows some of the group sprinting away from two waiting officers to their cars.
The stunt was orchestrated by Ally Law, 19, who has already scaled the O2 Arena, Blackpool Tower and the Ethiad Stadium. Mr Law, of Southampton, was joined on Saturday by Dylan Rhodes, 19, from Bristol, who said: ‘It’s been on my “to do” list for over a year. It was windier than expected but well worth it. It was perfect light to get the photos we wanted.’
The youths are all fans of urban exploring – the trend for risking life and limb to capture footage from dizzying heights.
Avon and Somerset Police said no ‘criminal offences were committed’ but Highways England said a security gate was damaged and a prosecution for criminal damage would be pursued. A spokesman said the group put lives at ‘serious risk’.