44th Floor Rescue, Virginity & Another Fiddling Window Cleaner

Window cleaners rescued from outside 44th floor: A team of window cleaners were left dangling outside the 44th floor of a US tower-block when a piece of scaffolding fell from the device that moved the cleaners. The trio had been cleaning the (many) windows on the Wells Fargo Plaza building in Houston, when the accident happened. When their device broke it meant the platform they were standing on fell, snapped and left the men clinging on. They were then left hanging by their harnesses for over two hours while rescuers removed a window from above them and pulled them to safety. When they were finally yanked in from their precarious position one of the rescuers said: "you missed a bit".



When it comes to first-time sex stories, Shawn Wickens (pictured) has heard them all - and then some. The tales of lost virginity are collected in a new book by the Queens window washer, who spent three years interviewing Americans from sea to pining sea about their romantic debuts. Much to his surprise, more than 1,000 strangers said yes to revealing their first intimate moments. They spoke of sex in the backseats of Cadillacs, in a broken Tilt-A-Whirl ride, in bunk beds and even in mom's bed. They detailed randy romps, fantasies fulfilled - and a few regrets. "There are joyful, erotic and unfortunate moments," Wickens said of his "How To Lose Your Virginity." "There's a sense that the first time is awkward or uncomfortable. I tried to look for stories that ran the gamut, to shed light on everything out there."
Wickens, 34, of Sunnyside, traveled 12,000 miles to speak with people in 36 cities, both large and small. Traveling with a tape recorder and a business card, his stops included Gettysburg, Pa., Roswell, N.M. and Hoboken, N.J. Wickens, who has a girlfriend, winnowed the book to the top 200 tales, spread across 18 self-explanatory chapters: "It Was a Train Wreck," "You'll Never Believe What Happened to Me" and "I Did It My Way."
Breaking the ice with interviewees was often done over something on the rocks. Bars were a fertile source of subjects, with Wickens - who spent a short time in telemarketing - delivering a quick spiel to prospective subjects. He was also shot down on a few occasions, including a bizarre hat trick in Amarillo, Tex.: "I met three gents over the age of 50 who said they were virgins and didn't want to talk about it ...Three virgins in one night!" Inspiration for the book struck in his native Cleveland, at a film festival where Wickens saw the German flick, "Mein Bruder, Der Vampire" - an offbeat tale of lost virginity. He grabbed the tape recorder - and bang! The first night, he captured 13 stories.
When not washing windows, Wickens works as a comedian ("I never do both at the same time," he jokes). And yes, he does share his own story. It happened just after he turned 22, with "Alice." It took a while, but he's finally comfortable talking about it: "At the time I started the book, I was embarrassed," he confessed. "Over the process, I grew to enjoy my own story a little more."

Window cleaner who pocketed £71,500 in benefits by claiming he was too scared to go out is still doing his round: A benefits cheat who stole £71,500 in disability payments after claiming he was too afraid to go outside was caught operating his own window cleaning business. John Booth (pictured), 63, took the incapacity benefit handouts citing stress and agoraphobia and being unable to go out alone. He also said he could not walk more than 50 yards unaided. But inspectors from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) discovered he had set up a window cleaning round. They secretly filmed him scaling 20ft ladders and cleaning windows as well as climbing over the balcony on the first floor of a house.
He also subsequently claimed Pension Credit stating he was single and not working. In truth he was married and his wife was in full-time employment. Inquiries revealed he had been taking state benefits for 14 years whilst cleaning windows in Alderley Edge and Wilmslow, Cheshire. At Preston Crown Court today Booth from Chorley, Lancashire, admitted 17 counts of false accounting. He was given a 28-week prison sentence suspended for two years after the court heard he was able to pay back the £71,000 in full. He was also placed under a four-month curfew from 8pm to 7am and ordered to pay £750 costs.
Prosecuting, Frank Nance said; 'The defendant claimed benefits from being unfit to work due to illnesses and later claimed he was grossly disabled. 'In reality he was working as a window cleaner throughout this time.' The court heard that Booth began claiming incapacity benefit in 1982 stating he was 'was suffering from depression and produced medical certificates signed by his GP'.But in April 1994 he started working and failed to notify the DWP. In December 1996 he claimed he has 'agrophobic anxiety' and a fear of open spaces. The court heard that in April 2002 Booth had a building society account with £27,000 in it which he closed two years later when it had £24,000 in it.
He continued to claim it took him two minutes to walk 30m and he couldn't go out on his own. Booth lived in Wilmslow and then Winsford until February 2008 when he moved to Chorley. Mr Nance went on: 'He claimed he was a single parent when he was married to a lady who had a full-time job. That was false from the outset. 'An investigation began in 2008 and in the summer of that year he was observed working as a window cleaner in Alderley Edge. He was witnessed carrying ladders and walking unaided.' Booth was arrested in October of that year and claimed he had been feeling better because of spinal injections he had in his back.
But further inquires were made by the DWP and 'customers confirmed he had been working for many years'. Defending, James Hawks said: 'This is a defendant whose claim was not false from the outset but became false and there were subsidiary false claimed within it. 'The dishonesty was a lapse into dishonesty. The vast bulk relates to the claims of invalidity or incapacity. 'Some of the more recent claims were limited in time and limited in value. 'This is a defendant who has had and continues to have genuine difficulties with his health particularly to do with chronic back pain. 'A considerable amount of money claimed went to support his son who is a long-term heroin addict and has health problems and has run up debts which the defendant paid off on his behalf. 'There was an element of pressure from his ex-wife based upon her life-style which he couldn't meet with his income. 'He remains a principal carer for his son who is in his 40s with considerable health problems. 'A voluntary repayment of £39,000 has been made at an early stage and he is in a position to recompense the state fully.'
Sentencing, Judge Norman Wright said: 'What you committed was not just a a fraud of the state but a fraud of everyone in this court and every member of the public. 'Because the monies you claimed came out of the public purse that tax payers have contributed for the welfare of people who properly deserve these monies. 'Some of those claims were dishonest from the very outset and these are serious matters. 'Because of what you did it means the people who are genuinely disabled all the time have suspicion placed upon them and have to undergo rigorous examinations to try to wheedle out people such as yourself. 'This money wasn't just frittered away because based on that money, you were able to save up and you were able to help your son and you were able to fund your consumption of cannabis. All this paid for by the state. 'You have repaid the money but the state has lost out because it has not had use of these monies.'

Above: Department of Work and Pensions inspectors filmed Boothscaling 20ft ladders and cleaning windows as well as climbing over a balcony on the first floor of a house.