The day Spiderman conquered the City
He climbs 662ft without harness... and is arrested
HE calls himself the French Spiderman and for 40 minutes yesterday lunchtime he lured hundreds of spellbound bystanders into his web.
They watched and cheered daredevil Alain Robert as he climbed the 662ft Heron Tower – the tallest skyscraper in the City of London.
But while the comic book SpiderMan helps police, 56-year-old Robert found himself on the wrong side of the law. He was arrested when he came down for causing a public nuisance. ce.
City of London Police had cordoned doned off streets around Bishopsgate, near busy Liverpool Street station, as specpting spectators spilt into the road, disrupting traffic. They also cleared a 150-yard ard zone around the tower.
Robert, who made his ascent nt freestyle, with no safety gear or r ropes, is a veteran urban climber r who in 2011 scaled the world’s tallest building – the 2,717ft Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Before tackling the Heron Tower yesterday he said: ‘Definitely it is dangerous. I fully feel alive when my life is at t stake. It may sound a bit scary y and crazy but this is the way it is.’ .’
The crowds cheered when Robert ert waved from about three-quarters s of the way up the skyscraper at 1.59pm 59pm and again when he raised his arms ms as he reached the top at 2.14pm.
Asked if what Robert was doing g was barmy, his manager Bryan Yeubrey ubrey said: ‘I just have to accept that. I cannot argue against it, can I?’
Robert, who began rock climbing as a 12-year-old and switched to scaling buildings in the mid-1990s, has tackled up to 160 skyscrapers, he added. ‘Alain is an adventurer. He wants to climb buildings. buildings He is incredible. incredible He is good at it and has been doing it for many years. I think it would have been a much tougher climb than he thought. I am always glad when he is safe after these things.
‘Now he will be arrested and go to court. Hopefully they will not be too hard on him because actually he is a really good guy.’ However, City of London Police Commander Karen Baxter condemned the stunt, accusing Robert of diverting resources. ‘ The incident has had a considerable si impact on police, other em emergency services and the local community,’ mu she said. ‘Our officers, the Lo London Fire Brigade and the London Am Ambulance Service all attended this inc incident taking them away from genuine ine emergencies. ‘R ‘Road closures meant a significant dis disturbance to local transport and businesses, and their staff located in the building were also considerably affected. It also posed a significant level of risk to the safety of people in and around Heron Tower at the time.’ Last night Robert remained in police custody.