A man has been detained under the Mental Health Act after staging a four-hour protest on the roof of Trafford town hall.
The drama began when he clambered up scaffolding to reach the roof of the town hall on Talbot Road in Old Trafford shortly before 5.38pm.
Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the scene and a huge cordon was erected around the building while negotiators tried to persuade the man to come down. The stand-off came to an end at around 9.50am when the man was led away by police and taken to hospital.
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From hospital, the man later told the M.E.N. he was with two police guards and had been sectioned under the Mental Health. He said he was protesting about mental health services in Trafford.
"I suffer from mental health problems. I feel like mental health services are not that great, especially in Trafford. I've done this several times over the last couple of years and nobody wants to take me seriously," he told the M.E.N.
It is the second time the man has climbed the town hall roof. He was taken to hospital after spending more than two hours perched on the roof in May 2019.
He also said he was the man who climbed the roof of Stretford Public Hall on November 30. He said he had carried out a similar protest on the roof of his own home.
During his latest protest, the man climbed scaffolding onto the roof of Trafford town hall, which is about 70ft from the ground. A source said he was 'wobbling' during his protest and there serious concerns for his safety.
Three fire engines, two ambulances and a number of police vehicles were scrambled to the scene. Warwick Road and a large section of Talbot Road were closed to traffic as police erected a huge cordon around the building.
At about 9.40pm, emergency services workers were spotted on the scaffolding and a few minutes later the man was led to safety. He was taken into a police and taken to hospital.
The man, who the M.E.N. is not naming, said from hospital that he had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and he was awaiting an assessment by medics.
Greater Manchester Police said officers were called to a 'concern for welfare of a man on scaffolding' at around 5.38am this morning.
In a statement, a GMP spokesperson said: "At around 5:38am this morning (Thursday 29 December 2022), officers were called to a concern for welfare of a man on scaffolding in Trafford.
"Emergency services attended the scene on Talbot Road in Stretford."
The spokesperson said no arrests had been made.
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