Parkway drama as man talked down from crane after 2 hour stand-off
At 10.15am, the man scaled the crane near John Lewis in Parkway, Newbury and shouted down at shoppers, Costain workmen and passers by, threatening to jump.
The cranes are thought to be around 40 metres above the ground.
The police and other emergency services attended and attempted to try and talk the man down while at the same time cordoning off roads and dealing with a sizeable crowd of onlookers.
Construction workers downed tools and along with members of the public were moved away from the scene as shocked onlookers continued to pour into the area to watch the drama play out.
Buses were also diverted away from the Park Way area causing problems for many elderly shoppers who were unsure of where to wait.
Eyewitness Simon Austin, aged 23, from Newbury, was drinking a cup of tea at the Debenham's cafe at about 10am when the man, appearing to be inebriated, began shouting obscenities at those near the shopping centre.
"He walked past and told us "you're all having a day off today, watch this", and was shouting and swearing at everyone. Next thing we knew he was climbing the crane and had gone right to the top. Everyone was really shocked. He was running along the top of it."
The man, said to be in his early 20s by an onlooker claiming to know him, climbed up and down the crane ladder several times and threatened to jump on more than one occasion before eventually being talked down
after a stand-off of almost two hours.
A spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police, Alice Adderley said that police officers successfully persuaded the man to come down from the crane.
“He has now come down, but he has not at this stage been arrested. That’s all I can say.
“The cordon has been removed and Parkway shopping centre has been reopened.”
Earlier as the incident unfolded Thames Valley Police confirmed that they were dealing with a welfare incident and officers were trying to talk a man down.
A spokesman, Adam Fisher, said: "Police were called at 10.15am to an incident involving a man who had climbed up a crane and was threatening to jump."
A fire officer from Newbury fire station and a land ambulance was also on hand.