Shard Polishing In London

Tall order: The intrepid crew of window cleaners are mere dots on the 95-storey face of the Shard.

Abseiling cleaners give the Shard a polish, however it's not a good place to drop your bucket and squeegee. Think of it as extreme cleaning — it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted. A specialist crew abseils down the Shard to wash some of its thousands of windows. The 309-metre, 95-storey building, the tallest in Europe, has 11,000 glass panels, creating a huge workload for the companies handling the job. The cleaning crews may be able to give Prince Andrew some tips on what it’s like to be on the outside of the Shard. The Duke of York is due to abseil from the 87th to the 20th floor next month to raise funds for the Outward Bound Trust and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund. Last month fire crews had to rescue a window cleaner who became stuck at the 72nd floor in strong winds days before its official opening.

Walking on glass: Cleaners abseiling the windows of Europe's tallest building.

Harnessed: The rope mechanism that keeps the cleaners safe at high heights.

Brave window cleaners descend 309m Shard to clean 11,000 windows: If you dislike cleaning your windows, spare a thought for the guys that abseiled down the 309m (1,013ft) Shard to wash some of the London landmark's 11,000 windows. The job is probably not a good one for those who suffer from vertigo as it involves trekking down the side of Europe's tallest building. The 95-storey Shard structure has thousands of glass panels, which creates a huge task for the specialist crews that have to clean them. Last month fire crews had to rescue one of these brave souls who became trapped on the 72nd floor due to severe winds. The Duke of York may want to ask the window cleaners for advice on how to cope with the dizzying heights as he is set to take part in a charity abseil on the Shard next month. The royal will raise money for the Outward Bound Trust and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund by abseiling between the 87th and 20th floors.

Don’t look down: Window cleaners descend the Shard.