TwitterLeeds City Centre underwent massive traffic delays today due to a man refusing to come down from a lamppost.
The man scaled the 20ft pole at around 9:10 am, reports the Yorkshire Post, bringing traffic to a standstill as far out as a motorway which skirts the city.
The 25-year-old, who apparently communicated with onlookers below, remained on the street lamp for five hours while police and paramedics attended the scene.
MAJOR disruption in Leeds City Centre because a man won't come down from a lamppost
Posted by MADE in Leeds on Monday, June 13, 2016
The man did finally return to street level around 2pm, but was arrested for wasting police time and detained under the mental health act.
A police spokesperson is reported as saying:
Officers were called to Bishopgate Street at 9.10am this morning after the man climbed scaffolding to reach the lamppost and refused to come down.
A cordon was put in place and a trained police negotiator maintained contact with the man throughout the incident. At about 2pm today he came down safely.
His motive remains unclear.
Welcome to Leeds where a man climbed a lamppost and pretty much closed down town pic.twitter.com/hHdvmQFkOf
— Ismond Callum (@iiSMOND) June 13, 2016
they've shut half of Leeds city centre down bcos a man won't get down from a lamppost
— lex (@_l3xy) June 13, 2016
America has mass shooting, Leeds has roads shut down due to "major police incident", it's literally a guy sat on a lamppost…
— Insomulus (@Insomulus) June 13, 2016
Inspector Richard Clarke added:
Our primary considerations during this incident were the safety of this man, the public in the area and the officers dealing with him. We are pleased we were able to bring the situation to a successful conclusion without any issues.
Clearly this incident has caused significant disruption to traffic in the city centre but we hope the public will understand the need for the road to be closed while we worked to resolve the situation safely.
Torn between Spain v Czech Republic or watching the feed of this bloke up a lamppost in Leeds.
— Jon Howe (@jonhowe1971) June 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/ellseaton1/status/742330300739555328\\
@WestYorksPolice your gridlocking Leeds cos a bloke is up a lamppost? Get a bloody ladder. Don't need to close the city down!
— Chris Wade (@chriswadels17) June 13, 2016
Some users started spreading reports the man was suicidal…
stood in centre of Leeds and some mans up a lamppost trying to hang himself
— Chris (@cphris) June 13, 2016
But this was soon quashed by others at the scene.
#Leeds #lamppostman is not threatening suicide or protesting anything. I asked. Just chilling on the lamppost and inconveniencing thousands.
— Gemma Wilson (@GemmaERWilson) June 13, 2016
Regardless of his reasons, this man felt compelled to climb a lamppost and bring the Yorkshire city to a halt – hopefully he will now get the help he potentially needs.
