Man arrested after five hours up lamppost in Leeds city centre

Photos released on Twitter showed officers approach the man as he clung to the pole, outside a pub, shortly after 9am.

Bishopgate Street was closed and traffic was queuing traffic northbound between the Neville Street junction and the Wellington Street junction while the police tried to reason with the man.

Traffic in Leeds has been heavier than usual today because of a strike by FirstBus drivers.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “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.”

The 25-year-old has been detained under the Mental Health Act and taken for an assessment. He has also been arrested for wasting police time.

Inspector Richard Clarke said: “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.”