‘French Spider-Man’ Climbs London Tower, Sans Safety Gear, Is Arrested As Soon As He Reaches The Top
Daredevil climber Alain Robert was arrested yesterday after climbing yet another tall building, the Daily Mail reported.
Robert, 56, dubbed the “French Spider-Man,” illegally climbed London’s Heron Tower, now known as the Salesforce Tower, which stands a whopping 662 feet tall. If that’s not impressive enough, Robert made the climb with no safety gear, no rope, and just bare hands.
“I fully feel alive when my life is at stake. It may sound a bit scary and crazy but this is the way it is,” the French Spider-Man said before his climb.
As Robert scaled the building, uniformed City of London police officers arrived to cordon off the area and usher the crowd that had gathered around to watch the impressive feat to move back and keep out of the street. The “large scale” emergency service response was reported by the Daily Mail to have cost an estimated £11,000, or roughly $14,000.
Robert was promptly arrested upon reaching the top of the building, which took him just over half an hour.
The Daily Mail reported today that after spending last night behind bars, Robert admitted a charge of causing a public nuisance at City of London Magistrates Court this afternoon. He was given a 20 week jail term, was ordered to pay £5,500, or about $7,000, compensation to the City of London police, and has been banned from climbing buildings in Britain.
According to Guinness World Records, Alain scaled his first building at 11-years-old, after climbing seven stories to get into his family’s apartment in Bourgogne, France, after he was locked out of the building. Since then, he has reached incredible new heights.
In 2008, Reuters reported that Robert climbed the New York Times building to draw attention to climate change, putting up a banner that read “global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week” once he reached the 10th floor.
In June, Alain was arrested after attempting to climb the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea, which is the world’s fifth highest building, Time reported. He was forced to abandon the climb half-way through after security intercepted and arrested him.
Robert said that the climb was to celebrate the peace initiatives between North and South Korea.
“I may get a hefty fine…but I did it because of what is happening now between South Korea and North Korea,” he said. “That is my way of saying thank you to Kim Jung Un and Moon Jae-in.”
Robert currently holds the world record for most buildings climbed, which he achieved after climbing his 121st building, the Cayan Tower in Dubai, in 2015.
