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French 'Spiderman' scales London tower
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LONDON (AFP) - A French urban climber nicknamed "Spiderman" scaled the outside of the Lloyd's Building in central London on Thursday in a protest about climate change.
Alain Robert, famous for his daring unaided ascents of skyscrapers and iconic sites around the world, was arrested once he had climbed back down, police told AFP.
The 14-storey building, which is 88 metres tall, is home to the insurance group Lloyd's of London.
The protest comes as world leaders meet in London for the G20 summit to thrash out solutions to the challenges facing the international community.
"A man has been arrested for aggravated trespass at the Lloyd's Building," a Scotland Yard spokesman said.
"He is in police custody."
Robert got to the ninth floor and unfurled a yellow banner warning of "100 months" to save the world. Around 20 minutes later, he folded it up and climbed back down.
A spokesman for Lloyd's of London told AFP: "He climbed up the building around midday. He wasn't up there for long, he came down of his own free will and the authorities quietly led him away.
"It's the same gentleman known as the 'Spiderman,' Alain Robert."
Completed in 1986, the Lloyd's Building was designed by architect Richard Rogers, who partly designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and it shares the same "inside-out" approach, with all its services such as the lifts and water pipes on the outside.
Among his achievements, Robert has climbed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Sydney Opera House, the Empire State building in New York and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
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LONDON (AFP) - A French urban climber nicknamed "Spiderman" scaled the outside of the Lloyd's Building in central London on Thursday in a protest about climate change.
Alain Robert, famous for his daring unaided ascents of skyscrapers and iconic sites around the world, was arrested once he had climbed back down, police told AFP.
The 14-storey building, which is 88 metres tall, is home to the insurance group Lloyd's of London.
The protest comes as world leaders meet in London for the G20 summit to thrash out solutions to the challenges facing the international community.
"A man has been arrested for aggravated trespass at the Lloyd's Building," a Scotland Yard spokesman said.
"He is in police custody."
Robert got to the ninth floor and unfurled a yellow banner warning of "100 months" to save the world. Around 20 minutes later, he folded it up and climbed back down.
A spokesman for Lloyd's of London told AFP: "He climbed up the building around midday. He wasn't up there for long, he came down of his own free will and the authorities quietly led him away.
"It's the same gentleman known as the 'Spiderman,' Alain Robert."
Completed in 1986, the Lloyd's Building was designed by architect Richard Rogers, who partly designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and it shares the same "inside-out" approach, with all its services such as the lifts and water pipes on the outside.
Among his achievements, Robert has climbed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Sydney Opera House, the Empire State building in New York and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
