Video: Bath's daredevil window cleaner with a head for heights
A daredevil window cleaner has been captured on film balancing on a ledge without a safety harness on the third floor of a building in Bath.
More than 1,000 people have viewed the Extreme Window Cleaning clip on YouTube, which shows a man working above the Loch Fyne restaurant, at the corner of Milsom Street and George Street.
During the three-minute film he is seen to climb out of the top floor window and onto the other side of the stone balustrade, before walking around the outside of the building.
Later on he is seen doing the same thing on the level below, but this time walking along the top of the narrow windows - but again without any kind of safety equipment.
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A member of staff at Loch Fyne said the incident was being dealt with internally by the restaurant chain’s owners Greene King, and added that they had been in contact with the health and safety team at Bath and North East Somerset Council.
B&NES today confirmed it was investigating the incident.
It is understood that the floors above the restaurant are occupied by the hotel side of the business, Milsoms, which has a number of rooms available for guests.
A Loch Fyne Restaurants spokesperson said: “We take health and safety extremely seriously and fully expect the same from external contractors. Therefore we were shocked by the video footage. When the video was brought to our attention we immediately moved to prevent this from happening again and have launched a full investigation into how this could have happened at all.”
Comments
by bath1946
Sunday, January 06 2013, 9:20AM
“Chronicle, is the inclusion of this article an error since there has been no comment since October and it is not in this week's hard copy ?”
by Ilovespaniels
Saturday, October 27 2012, 3:28PM
“Also made the BBC news
http://tinyurl.com/8u3v544”
by rottidog
Thursday, October 25 2012, 9:59AM
“You only have to look at the wall on Grand Parade which is of a similar structure to see how crumbly they can be. If you drive your car in a way that endangers others you can be prosecuted or fined even if you don't have an accident. This guy should be treated similarly for possibly endangering others and as a warning to others who might think it is a "spiffing wheeze" to clamber around on old buildings above a very busy street. Idiot doesn't even begin to cover it and for anyone who thinks it is not stupid, just imagine for a second if he were to fall, complete with stonework and land on your car/child/grandchild/wife - not so funny then!”
by mrGoth
Thursday, October 25 2012, 8:18AM
“I have worked on many buildings in Bath, things are not as solid as they seem.
As my mate says, cornice and pediments are designed to throw water away from the face of the building and are not designed to carry load. Large cornices, such as on this building, are normally covered in lead to protect them - VERY slippery when wet, especially with moss and algae growth.
Balustrades are decorative on a building such as this and should NEVER be used as an anchor point!
In summary, very entertaining but potentially lethal both to the window cleaner and the public below - sheer madness!”
by MoeXXX
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 9:56PM
“Nonsense. Being paralysed should be no barrier to a productive window-cleaning career. ATOS would've declared him fit for work before he'd been scraped off the pavement.”
by sunny_bath
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 7:34PM
“As long as he's happy? Fuss about nothing?
If he falls from that height onto a stone pavement and actually survives, he'll need lots of hospital treatment and a lifetime of care, all very expensive. If he has a family, they'll lose a breadwinner. Any witnesses are likely to be traumatised to some extent. It's also a busy pavement and there's a decent chance he'll fall on someone and cause them similar injury.
All for the sake of some clean windows??”
by sunny_bath
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 7:26PM
“Fuss about nothing? As long as he's happy?
If he falls from that height onto a stone pavement and survives, there's a decent chance he'll be paralysed and need lifetime care at the taxpayer's expense. If he has a family, they'll lose a breadwinner. Witnesses will probably be traumatised. There's also the matter of it being a busy pavement and the damage done to anyone he falls on.
All for the sake of cleaning some windows?”
by Chidley
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 6:08PM
“Of course it is sheer lunacy. If the window cleaner fell three floors onto concrete - his stupid fault
If he fell onto buggy carrying twins.......”
by mrgothsmate
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 5:18PM
“I hope that silly window cleaner has a good public liability insurance! Cornices and Balustrades are not designed to support weight on their overhang. If he slips he could end up taking a ton or so of stone down with him, with no doubt his and who ever is unfortunate to be passing's death.”
by honeybunny55
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 4:24PM
“Prat!”