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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Jacob Farr

Man trapped on Scottish kirk roof as hero firefighters launch three-hour rescue

A man was spotted perching on a building roof as emergency services rushed to the scene on Saturday night.

The incident took place on March 25 at around 10.30pm around St John’s Kirk as onlookers spotted a male scrambling up scaffolding on the north side of the Perth church. He was then seen moving over onto the roof of the south wing.

Police Scotland were forced to tape off St John’s Place around the kirk and St John Street as the incident unfolded. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) sent two fire engines to the kirk, including an aerial appliance. The Scottish Ambulance Service sent out a vehicle from its SORT (Special Operations Response Team) in addition to a normal ambulance.

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One witness said that both a firefighter and officer went up in a cage to identify the person and to try to talk to them. A ladder was also put up on the south side of the kirk, the Daily Record reports.

It is understood that another man was also involved. Police said that they spent around three hours chatting to the individual before they were taken down by firefighters in the aerial appliance at around 12.40am on Sunday.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 10.25pm on Saturday, March 25, police were called to the St John Street area of Perth following concern for two men.

“The men were traced safely and reported to the Procurator Fiscal in connection with breach of the peace.”

The man on the roof St John's Kirk. (Stuart Cowper.)

A SFRS spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 10.35pm on Saturday, March 25 to reports of a person in need of assistance in Perth.

“Operations Control mobilised two appliances to the city’s St John’s Place, where firefighters used a ladder to help rescue a person who had become trapped on top of a building. Crews thereafter left the scene. There were no casualties.”

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