Man gets stuck up 32ft lamppost in Handsworth, Birmingham West Midlands Fire Service says the incident, which involved a complex rescue operation, could have "ended very differently".

Image: The man was stuck at the top of the lamppost. Pic: Handsworth Fire

A man had to be rescued by firefighters after getting stuck at the top of a lamppost in Birmingham.

The man scaled the 10m (32ft) lamppost at a junction near Handsworth, and then sat on the light fixture with his bare legs and feet dangling for around an hour.

West Midlands Fire Service used a 13.5m (45ft) ladder held in place by metal posts and a hydraulic platform to carry out the rescue.

The man was "under the influence of an illegal high", firefighters said in a Twitter post.

The fire service tweeted pictures of the "unusual" incident which could have "ended very differently".


Police and paramedics also attended and the man was treated for a hand injury.

An ambulance service spokesman said paramedics were called to reports of a man in "a precarious position at the top of a lamppost" before 10pm on Saturday.

"The man was brought down to safety by the fire service before we treated him for a hand injury. He was then transported to Sandwell Hospital for further assessment," he added.

Handsworth fire station's Twitter feed said that fire crews "got there just in time".

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: "We were called to reports of a man up a lamppost in Holly Road, Handsworth, at around 9.50pm. He came down around an hour later and was taken to hospital."