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A passer-by brought a student’s two-hour rooftop stand-off with police to a peaceful end by talking him down using tips picked up from a Hollywood movie.

More than a dozen police officers sealed off the concourse outside Stratford tube and DLR station in east London after the man in his 20s climbed onto a glazed balcony and refused to come down.

Hundreds of commuters watched in horror as the man - who wore sunglasses and had a messenger bag wrapped around his waist - swayed, staggered and danced at the edge of the 15ft-high roof swigging from a bottle of Carribean Twist alcopop.

The main entrance below was closed from 6pm causing chaos around the station, which was packed with rush-hour commuters as well as shoppers and diners from the Westfield centre.

Youth worker Jackson Ogunyemi, 36, was walking from his offices nearby to meet his wife Nancy, 30, a nurse, for a “date night” meal when he saw the drama unfolding.

Mr Ogunyemi, from Islington, said: “I was angry at the way the crowd was just baiting the guy and filming him on their phones so I tried to help.

“I started talking to him at the cordon and we made a connection. I kept talking to him, asking him questions about himself and we seemed to connect.

“I tried to do a bit of banter. I told him not to worry, I said I had his back and we could go for Nandos if he just came down. He told me he was a vegetarian but I knew I was getting through to him.

“The police saw I could do something so invited me through the cordon and I just kept chatting to him. I got through to him by just talking to him about himself and he came down.

“I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve seen a lot of films where people negotiate and I wanted to be a bit like Samuel L Jackson in The Negotiator. He’s just calm and cool, that’s what I tried to be.”

The crowd cheered as the young man, who told Mr Ogunyemi his name was Glenn and he was a civil engineering student at a London university, was led down on a fire service ladder shortly before 8pm.

Mr Ogunyemi, known to friends as ‘Action Jackson’, hugged the protester before he was arrested and taken away by British Transport Police

He said: “It felt right to give him a hug. He said: ‘I’m ok, I’m ok’, and I said ‘I’ve still got your back.’ I hope he’s alright, I’d meet him if he wants to talk about things some more.

“It’s hard to know why he did it, he must have been depressed about something. Some people internalise and he externalised. But of course it’s not right what he did.”

One station staff member told Mr Ogunyemi: “Well done mate, you’re a real hero.”

Mr Ogunyemi said: “I don’t feel like a hero, its up to everybody to try and empower young people.

“I’m glad I could help. It felt good. I messed up date night but I’ll do my best to make it up to my wife at the weekend.”

Commuters told of their anger as they watched the bizarre scenes unfold before the incident came to an end.

Natel Allen said the man appeared to be having a “rooftop party”.

She said: “There was a police cordon all around the station. I walked round and there were crowds of people watching him. Everyone had stopped on the escalators going into Stratford to have a look.

“He very much looked like he was enjoying himself up there. He did a strutting dance as he was walking across. He looked like a bemused student who had found his way up there.”

Omar Khan, 38, a butcher from Deptford, said: “I don’t know how he got up there but it’s ridiculous the chaos it has caused. It’s a massive waste of time and resources. I’ve got no sympathy for him.”

A businessman, who asked not to be named, said: “There was a huge crowd at the start and he was really playing up to them. But it’s a huge inconvenience. They’ve had to shut so many entrances. It’s really hard for anyone to get in the station so lots of people just ended up watching.”

A British Transport Police spokesman said today: “At 6.24pm last night BTP officers were called to Stratford London underground Station following reports that a male was on the station roof.

“Upon arrival BTP officers spoke to the male and then along with the London Fire Brigade they assisted him in coming down from the roof voluntarily.

“The male was arrested for trespass and for being drunk & disorderly and taken into custody.”