21.06.2012

Fall from Minster

A man was hospitalised yesterday after falling from the spire of St Nicholas Minster in Great Yarmouth, UK.

Michael Sheldrake, 26, fell more than three metres from a scaffold, being used to carry out restoration work, before landing on the church roof. Firemen from the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service eventually lowered him to the ground using an aerial ladder platform, after a paramedic had abseiled with him 12 metres down the church tower. He was later taken to hospital suffering with three broken ribs.
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Sheldrake fell from the scaffolding around the spire of St Nicholas Minster

Phil Berry, Carrow fire station manager, said: “It was very complex because of the problem of working at such a height and having to bring the casualty down. The rescue went very smoothly and we will use this as an example to train people in the future.”
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A paramedic abseiled with Sheldrake down to the aerial ladder platform

The restoration work on the church pinnacles has taken around four weeks, with the incident occurring on the final day.