Window Cleaner Rescued From His Own Roof

Silly Sausage - John Kirk

Window cleaner rescued from his own roof: A window cleaner was brought back to earth by firefighters after he got trapped on his own roof. John Kirk, 64, of Ebor Street, South Shields, decided to boldly go up a ladder to attempt to fix water leaking through his roof on Sunday evening. But his enterprise soon saw him shouting from the rooftops – for help – when he found what goes up doesn’t always come down. He found the ladder he was using was shaking under his weight as he attempted to get back down. After he called out for help, a neighbour rang for emergency assistance. Mr Kirk, a father-of-two and grandad-of-one, married to Margaret, had attempted the job as roof damage wasn’t covered by his insurers.

Firefighters turned out after 6pm, with a ladder more suited to the task and brought a relieved Mr Kirk back down to safety. Mr Kirk, back on a firmer footing, said: “The firefighters were a Godsend. I thank them very much. “It was just getting dark and I thought ‘I’m here for the night’. They asked me my name and I said it’s Kirk, like Captain Kirk. “I asked to be beamed up, but Scotty never came. I was up there for about 15 minutes and the fire service were here only five minutes.” Mr Kirk decided to get on the roof due to concerns over the cost of getting a builder.

He added: “Water was getting in. We’ve got the house up for sale so I thought I’ll have a go at fixing it. I think we’ll move into a bungalow – I’m sick of heights.” Mr Kirk has vowed there’ll be no repeat of the rescue, adding: “I wouldn’t recommend it.” Neil Hanlon, crew manager at South Shields Fire Station, said: “We would always advise carrying out something like this in daylight. There should also be more than one person, so somebody can hold the ladder. “The ladder became unstable and he couldn’t get down. Once we arrived and pitched up our ladder, we were able to get him down safely soon after.”

Window cleaner John Kirk rescued from own roof: A window cleaner had to be rescued from his own roof after his ladder started to wobble as he tried to fix a leak. Neighbours heard John Kirk shout for help and called the fire brigade to his home in Ebor Street, South Shields. Firefighters used a ladder to bring the 64-year-old father-of-two and grandfather-of-one, to safety just as it was getting dark. Mr Kirk said the five firefighters who rescued him were a "Godsend" but were trying not to laugh. He said: "I got up okay, but it's a long way up - about 30ft - and coming down was a different matter. "I was slipping on the tiles and the ladder was wobbling.

"The neighbours heard me calling out and tried to hold the ladder but it was no good and they had to call the fire brigade." 'Trying not to laugh' Mr Kirk said his rescuers arrived within five minutes of the incident happening on Sunday and he was only trapped for 15 minutes. He added: "They were great as I could have been up there all night. "They were trying not to laugh though, as I was the window cleaner who could not come down his own ladder. "The more times you go up a ladder your odds increase of something happening - a few years ago I broke my pelvis in two places. "On this occasion I could just feel the ladder slipping."