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| Four arrested after scaling crane | Four arrested after scaling crane |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Four men have been arrested after they scaled a massive crane in Belfast city centre. | Four men have been arrested after they scaled a massive crane in Belfast city centre. |
| A number of roads were closed in the area for sveral hours while a rescue operation was launched. | A number of roads were closed in the area for sveral hours while a rescue operation was launched. |
| Members of the Fire Service's rescue support unit helped take the men down the crane, which is on the site for a new hotel off Bedford Street. | Members of the Fire Service's rescue support unit helped take the men down the crane, which is on the site for a new hotel off Bedford Street. |
| One of the men was seen sitting out on the arm of the crane, which is hundreds of feet up. | One of the men was seen sitting out on the arm of the crane, which is hundreds of feet up. |
| A number of fire appliances attended the scene and police cordoned off several streets in the city centre. | A number of fire appliances attended the scene and police cordoned off several streets in the city centre. |
| The emergency services criticised the four youths for tying up police and fire crews, who spent several hours at the scene. | |
| 'Climbed up the outside' | |
| Police said the prank had been "madness" and had diverted much needed resources away from other calls for several hours. | |
| The youths climbed up the outside of the tower crane to bypass gates on its internal ladder, which were locked off. | |
| They were spotted a short time after they reached the top. Two of them climbed down voluntarily, two others stayed put and a fire and rescue ropes team, trained to carry out operations at height, were sent up. | |
| Emergency services spent several hours at the scene | |
| Superintendent Mark Purdon, who co-ordinated the police operation, said: "I think the only way that I could describe it is madness. | |
| "These people actually climbed up the outside of this crane. That is how they got past the locks and the doors that there are to prevent people going up the inside of the crane. | |
| "They could have fallen at any stage and they would have killed themselves." |