Man dices with death by climbing onto the suspension supports of Tower Bridge and smoking cigarettes
At one point the man sat down as he smoked and would not come down for two hours
A MAN spent two hours balancing on the top of Tower Bridge supports this morning as he casually climbed up the structure at 2am and smoked.
The man, thought to be in his 40s clambered up from the handrail on the iconic London bridge and onto the blue support beams.
The footbridge section is 43m high, so the support beams where the man was walking and climbing will be slightly higher.
Am RNLI spokesman said: "The Tower RNLI lifeboat crew were called to the bridge and there was already a marine police boat there.
"When we got there the guy was standing on the south side of the bridge.
"He was walking back and forth on the U shape as far as gravity would allow.
"During the two hours we were there he did not seen in an anxious state.
"He was sitting down, lying down and stopped a couple of times for a cigarette. He had a backpack on."
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A police negotiator was called to the bridge over the River Thames, and eventually he was persuaded to come down.
The man was taken to an East London hospital for a medical assessment and has been detained under the Mental Health Act.
A City of London Police spokesman confirmed: "On Wednesday 22 June at 01.51, City of London Police officers and the Metropolitan Police Service Marine Policing Unit were called to Tower Bridge after a man in his 40s was seen to climb the structure of the bridge.
"He was taken to an East London hospital for medical assessment and has been detained under the Mental Health Act."
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