Window Cleaning Safety Concerns In Australia

A window cleaner is seen washing windows without a safety harness.

Safety concerns reach new heights: Concerns for highrise safety protocols have been sparked after a horrified passerby snapped a picture of a window cleaner perched high on a ledge without safety gear. The unidentified cleaner was seen many stories up on the Surfers Paradise RSL building at 9 Beach Rd on Tuesday. A cleaning bucket is visible and the cleaner is wearing a sun-protection hat but no other safety equipment can be seen as he reaches up to clean the large windows.

Photographer Byron Bailey said it was an all-to-common sight on the Glitter Strip. "I can't believe just how many times I see this all over the Coast," he said. "I watched (this cleaner) jump from ledge to ledge as he cleaned the windows." The building manager told the Bulletin he was unaware of the alleged incident and could not comment.

Under Queensland's Workplace Health and Safety Act, staff and employers must maintain safe work conditions or face stiff fines. Individuals can cop maximum fines up to $50,000, businesses $300,000 and body corporates can be up for $1.5 million. A WHS Code of Practice published last year regarding fall risks recommended suspended platforms or ropes and harnesses be used for window cleaning. Alternatively, it recommends building designers install windows that pivot to allow for indoor cleaning and prevent outdoor accidents.

A holiday maker "jumped out" the window of a Gold Coast high rise to rescue a window cleaner who fell five storeys to the 17th floor after his ropes failed.

A government spokesman said anyone concerned about their workplace safety practices to view legislation and codes of practice details online. It comes after a 35-year-old window cleaner was left dangling on a rope after he plunged four storeys from the 21st level of a Main Beach hotel yesterday before smashing through an apartment window. Lee Heights was pulled to safety by Brisbane holidaymakers after his safety rope slackened, sending him down the side of the building at high speed. He was taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs after the fall yesterday morning.

Mr. Heights Takes A Drop In Australia

Lee Heights, a window cleaner has fallen from the top of a Gold Coast high-rise, dangling 17 storeys above the ground after his harness gave way.

Queensland cleaner rescued after high-rise fall: A hotel guest has helped rescue a window cleaner left dangling on a rope after falling four storeys at a Gold Coast high-rise. The man had been cleaning windows on the 21st floor of the Sunbird Beach Resort at Main Beach, when a rope went slack. The 35-year-old, who was wearing a safety harness, fell four floors and hit a 17th floor window. A woman staying at the hotel reportedly pulled the dangling man onto a balcony. He has been taken to the Gold Coast Hospital in a stable condition, with suspected rib injuries.

The cleaner, reported to have the ironic name of Lee Heights, was left dangling next to the balcony of the room where the Nicol family, from Brisbane, were holidaying. Mum Jenny Nicol helped pulled the man to safety before she and husband Richard raised the alarm with the building managers. "He was yelling out in pain and groaning and looked a bit dazed," Ms Nicol told The Courier-Mail. "He must have knocked himself out for a bit. I'm just glad he's okay." Police as well as the Department of Workplace Health and Safety are investigating the incident.

Sunbird Beach Resort at Main Beach

Gold Coast high-rise window cleaner who plunged five floors is plucked to safety by tourist on 17th floor: Brisbane holiday makers have rescued a high-rise window cleaner - with the ironic name of Lee Heights - who plunged five floors from a Gold Coast apartment tower. Mr Heights, 35, was tethered to an abseiling rope while cleaning windows on the 21st floor of the Sunbird Beach Resort at Main Beach when he fell about 9.30am on Wednesday. He is believed to have struck his head as he plummetted to the 17th storey, where he was left dazed and dangling.

The Nicol family, of Indooroopilly, were holidaying in the building when they saw Mr Heights fall and pulled him to safety through a bedroom window. "He sort of swung down and hit his head and his elbow smashed into the glass,'' said 14-year-old Jess Nicol, who was in the kitchen of the 17th floor apartment when she saw the fall. "He was just hanging there next to our unit.''

Mum Jenny Nicol helped pull Mr Heights to safety and she and husband Richard alerted the building managers, who rang an ambulance. "He was yelling out in pain and groaning and looked a bit dazed,'' Mrs Nicol said. "He must have knocked himself out for a bit. I'm just glad he's OK.'' Mr Heights, who has been cleaning highrise windows for about 15 years, was taken to Gold Coast Hospital with minor injuries. Police and the Department of Workplace Health and Safety are investigating.

Charity Scarf Makes Window Cleaner A Winner

Lee Appleby who won the Neurocare November Scarf Competition 2011

Woolly thinking - a charity winner: Some people took their scarf out to the Peak District; some took it on holiday to destinations like Gibraltar and Spain; and one couple even took it to Euro Disney where they snapped Mickey Mouse wearing it. But the winner of a city-wide charity competition to see who could photo themselves donning this distinctive lime and purple neckwear in the most unusual place took it nowhere so exotic.

Lee Appleby simply took it to work. “I’m a window cleaner,” says the 42-year-old of High Street, Mosborough. “I was doing the ninth floor of The Balance building in Trippet Lane, and I thought the view from up there, with me about to abseil down, would take some beating.” It did. The father-of-three was this week crowned the champion of the inaugural Sheffield Neurocare November scarf competition.

He beat off rival entrants including Mary Gregory who snapped a series of Disney characters in the winter warmer; Katie Goulding who pictured her horse wearing it; and Lisa Ellen-Riley who modelled it as a shawl and paired it with purple eyeshadow. But while the victory was good news for Lee – he won a digital camera and, more importantly, gets his mug in The Diary – it was perhaps even better news for Sheffield Neurocare itself. For the contest has seen more than 3,000 scarves sold across the city raising both money and unprecedented awareness for the Lydgate Lane, Crookes, charity.

“It’s really caught people’s imagination,” says fundraiser Emma Douglas. “I’ll be wearing the scarf in town and see someone else in one and you sort of do a little nod and touch the scarf – it’s like being in a secret club. Only it’s not a secret, obviously. “Some people have come up to me and asked what football team it represents, and then you explain it’s to raise money for the Neurosciences department at the Royal Hallamshire, and they’re really impressed, and often want to buy one too. In fact, I’ve sold quite a few that way so now I keep a dozen in my car. You only have to donate £1.”

And, although the photo competition has now finished, it was so popular she says plans are already afoot to make it an annual event. “It would be great if it became a bit of a Sheffield institution,” says Emma, who lives in Meersbrook. “We had a few dozen photos submitted this year but we reckon we could easily get more with a bit more promotion and word of mouth next year. “And some of those entrants were amazing. To see Mickey Mouse wearing one was great, although we thought Lee’s was perfect. We’re a Sheffield charity and his picture seemed to capture the essence of the city.” “Did it?” says Lee, who learned of the charity’s work after a friend suffered a brain tumor. “Fancy that. I was only wearing it in the first place because it’s cold up there. It’s lovely to have won, though.”

Window Cleaning Fall Update - Anchors Suspect

VERY LUCKY: The man, put in a neck brace on a rigid stretcher, was later found to have only minor injuries.

Landing on a parked car probably saved the life of an abseiler who fell five storeys while cleaning a high-rise building, says a paramedic who treated him at the scene. The Labour Department is investigating what caused the window cleaner to plummet from the eighth storey of the Corrections Department's 14-storey Mayfair House off Aurora Tce into a third-floor car park below. He was taken to Wellington Hospital with suspected back, leg and pelvis injuries, but was later found to have escaped with simply a dislocated toe.

Wellington Free Ambulance team manager Kate Worthington was one of the first to arrive yesterday after the man fell from his rope into car park No93 soon after midday at the site near The Terrace. She said she had seen people die in falls from shorter distances. "It's really been quite a fortunate day for him. "He's free-fallen ... and the way the building's positioned there's a row of car parks at the bottom, and he's struck one of the parked cars with his leg, which was enough to slow him down. "He's certainly been injured, but nowhere near as badly as he could have been."

Paramedics cut the man free from his abseiling harness, fitted a neck brace and stabilised him on a rigid stretcher to minimise potential spinal injuries. Mrs Worthington said the man was lucid and able to talk to paramedics after his fall. "He was being quite brave. I would have been performing far more than that in his situation. He had been anxious about what caused the accident and did not know what had gone wrong, she said. The man and his workmate told paramedics he had been using a safety rope as well as his primary abseiling rope, but both had failed.

Wellington industrial abseiler Karl Millanta said he did not know the circumstances of yesterday's accident, but if safety regulations were followed, it was "pretty much impossible" to fall while abseiling. Backup mechanisms were designed to stop abseilers falling more than 600 millimetres without locking up. Mr Millanta said he thought there should be tougher training standards for new abseilers. "There's two- or three-week courses, but the problem is, these new guys do the course, then don't go abseiling for another six months, so they forget everything."

Cleaner jokes after 6-floor plunge: A window cleaner who fell up to six storeys from a Wellington building and on to a car was last night "chatting and joking" in his hospital bed - his only injury a dislocated toe. The man fell from the Mayfair House building on The Terrace about noon yesterday, partly landing on the parked car. He clipped the right front of the car above the bumper.  His boss, Mike Roche, the co-owner and director of Window Cleaning and Contractors, told the Herald the man's leg hit the bumper. He said his staff member was "safe and well" and had been visited in hospital by his daughter. He was expected to be discharged last night after getting the all-clear from doctors, who were checking x-rays and scans. A hospital spokesman said medical staff were amazed at the man's recovery. "I think he's still coming to terms with how lucky he is. It's amazing."

Police at the scene yesterday spoke to several people, including the man's colleague and an office worker on one of the top floors who had waved to the window cleaner moments before he fell. The man's safety gear, including a helmet, helped to save his life, police said.  Earlier, Wellington Free Ambulance team manager Kate Worthington, who was at the scene, said the man had been "quite upset, as was his colleague who was with him at the time". St John medical director Tony Smith said it was a miracle the man was alive. "It's extraordinary for someone to fall from that height and survive. "We only see people fall and survive when something significant has broken their fall and in this case it was the car."

Dr Smith said the vehicle would have been an important factor in saving the worker's life. "The rope may not have completely given way, for example, and that could have helped ..." Dr Smith remembered a young man who fell from the fifth floor of an apartment building and was saved because he hit the awnings at each level. The Mayfair Building is 13 storeys high and houses several businesses, including a dental clinic and the Department of Corrections information centre. A Corrections spokeswoman said last night that no staff member had seen the fall, but workers rushed to help the man. A Labour Department investigation has started.

Mr Roche (pictured) said as well as that investigation, the company had launched its own inquiry using an independent investigator to find out what went wrong. "I don't know exactly what happened." But the fact the man emerged with only a dislocated toe, he said, showed there were systems in place that prevented a worse outcome.

Building's anchors not tested before cleaner fell: The high-rise building from which a window cleaner fell five storeys yesterday was not part of a Department of Labour review of the safety of roof anchors, the department said today. The anchors are used for wires holding the platforms of window cleaners and other workers. In February last year the department announced an independent engineer would oversee testing of the abseil anchors on some Wellington buildings. The investigation was started after claims that anchors on a 12-storey apartment block were unsafe and that one had pulled out.

In yesterday's incident a Window Cleaning and Contractors worker fell from the annex of Mayfair House on The Terrace, about midday. He escaped with just a dislocated toe when a parked car partially broke his fall. Investigations by the Department of Labour as well as the cleaning company into the incident have begun. A department spokeswoman told NZPA the Mayfair Building's roof anchors had been tested, but the annex where the cleaner was working was not part of last year's review. The incident is still under investigation and it cannot be determined that anchor bolt issues are involved, the spokeswoman said.

Window cleaner survives 14-storey fall: Heads are still shaking in Wellington over how a window cleaner survived a five story drop from a building on The Terrace. The incident happened around midday yesterday when the man was cleaning the Corrections Department's 14-storey Mayfair House. He plummeted into a third-floor car park from about half way down the building, escaping with just a dislocated toe. Wellington Free Ambulance team manager Kate Worthington says if a parked car didn't break his fall, things could've been much worse. "His lower legs have landed on the bonnet of the car, it would appear if that car wasn't parked in that particular position he would've impacted the concrete below."

Neil Thomson, associate professor at the University of Otago’s physics department, spelled out the unlikely escape from more serious injury or death. He said a person falling from 45 to 50 metres would reach a speed of 100km/h by the time they struck the ground. Coming to rest over 5 metres mean the person’s force of impact would have been approximately 10 g – twice as strong as slamming on the brakes in a Formula One car at full speed.

Breaking News: Car Breaks NZ Window Cleaner's Fall

EMERGENCY SCENE: The scene of the fall, from approximately five storeys up.

Abseiling window cleaner hurt in fall: A parked car broke the fall of an abseiling window cleaner who fell several stories from a building on the Terrace in Central Wellington today. The man, in his 30s, fell from approximately the 5th floor of a high rise office building from the rope where he was working at 12.18pm. He landed in Bolton St, adjacent to The Terrace. He received emergency treatment at the scene and was transferred to Wellington Hospital with leg and lower back injuries. Wellington Free Ambulance Team Manager Kate Worthington said the incident could have been much more serious if the man's fall was not broken by the parked car. "He is very lucky indeed." A police cordon around the area has now been lifted. Another workman was at the scene but was not injured.

FALL: Emergency services attending an incident on Bolton St in central Wellington, where it appears an abseiling workman has been injured.

An absailing window cleaner in Wellington hit a parked car after a five-storey plunge earlier today.

Car breaks Wellington window cleaner's fall: An abseiling window cleaner was seriously injured today after a falling at least five stories in central Wellington. The man fell from Mayfair House on The Terrace about midday. He was taken to Wellington Hospital in a serious but stable condition, Wellington Free Ambulance team manager Kate Worthington told NZPA. The man, in his 20s or 30s, had been harnessed onto the back of a 10-12 storey building. "At some point during his way down the building, around the sixth floor from the ground level, the harness has failed and he has subsequently fallen approximately five to six stories from there." He hit a parked car, which slowed him down before he hit the concrete, Mrs Worthington said.

He had lower leg and lower back injuries, which appeared to be from where he struck the car, she said. The man remained fully conscious and was talking after the fall. He was "quite upset, as was his colleague who was with him at the time", she said. The car sustained minor damage to its bonnet. The Department of Labour was investigating what happened and why, a spokesman said.

An abseiling window cleaner in New Zealand has been seriously injured falling at least five storeys onto a parked car that has helped brake his descent. The man, aged in his 20s or 30s, was harnessed onto a 10-12 storey building in central Wellington about midday (10am AEST). "At some point during his way down the building, around the sixth floor from the ground level, the harness has failed and he has subsequently fallen approximately five to six storeys from there," an ambulance spokeswoman said. She said he hit a parked car, which slowed him down before hitting the concrete. He suffered leg and back injuries, which appeared to be from where he struck the car, but remained fully conscious and was talking after the fall, she said. He was "quite upset, as was his colleague who was with him at the time", she said. He was taken to Wellington Hospital in a serious but stable condition. The car sustained minor damage to its bonnet.

A window cleaner is in serious condition after falling off a high rise office building on The Terrace in Wellington. Wellington Free Ambulance team manager Kate Worthington says the man was lucky to have had his fall broken by a parked car. She says he fell approximately five storeys onto a car and concrete below when his safety rope gave way. Ms Worthington says the man is now at Wellington Hospital.

Wellington window cleaner survives five-storey fall: An abseiling window cleaner was seriously injured today after a falling at least five stories in central Wellington. The man fell from a building on The Terrace about midday and was taken to Wellington Hospital in a serious but stable condition, Wellington Free Ambulance team manager Kate Worthington said. The man, in his 20s or 30s, had been harnessed onto the back of a 10-12 story building. "At some point during his way down the building, around the sixth floor from the ground level, the harness has failed and he has subsequently fallen approximately five to six stories from there." He hit a parked car, which slowed him down before he hit the concrete, Mrs Worthington said. He had lower leg and lower back injuries, which appeared to be from where he struck the car, Mrs Worthington said. The man remained fully conscious and was talking after the fall. He was "quite upset, as was his colleague who was with him at the time", she said. The car sustained minor damage to its bonnet. 

Tube Service Suspended By Window Cleaners

Tube service is suspended: Swinging up to 12 metres above the floor of Westminster Tube station, here are some of London's most adventurous cleaners in action. The team of abseiling workers will be spending 10 weeks suspended from the ceiling, or clambering high up in the station's superstructure, for one of the capital's hardest hygiene jobs. They will be secured by ropes and harnesses as they clean pipes, polish the sides of escalators and dust off the nets that hang between staircases. Balancing act: the Jeweltone cleaners get to work on the cavernous interiors of Westminster Tube station, where they will work from 1am-5am for 10 weeks. They also clean the other 10 stations on the Jubilee line extension. “It would be dangerous for you or I to attempt it, but the team are all qualified and work to the highest safety standards.” The abseilers work in all 11 stations on the 10-year-old Jubilee line extension, from Westminster to Stratford, because of their awkward design. The team are from Jeweltone, whose previous projects include cleaning the outside of Barclays Bank's 156m-tall Canary Wharf headquarters, and the outside of Canary Wharf station. He added: “Sometimes we get cleaners who want to do abseiling so we send them away for training, or we get people who love abseiling calling us up looking for work and we show them what they need to do.”
Senior technician Brian Titman, 41, started out as a window cleaner but trained in “abseil-cleaning” 21 years ago. It now pays up to £36,000 a year. He said the “extreme” nature of the job kept him feeling young. “I've never been afraid of heights, just falling from great heights,” he said. “A lot of days I go home and my whole body is aching, and in Westminster it gets very hot, so I'm sure I've lost a few pounds.” Mr Titman, from Ipswich, has cleaned numerous tall buildings in the capital including the Gherkin. “Because our job starts at the top of buildings and works down, the aerial views you get over London are absolutely breathtaking,” he said. More pictures of jobs undertaken by this company - click the pictures to enlarge.

Window Cleaning News Update

On the job (Perth, Australia)- Samford Housewashing: Name: Rowan Macaulay
Business: Samford Housewashing
Based at: Samford
What services does your business offer? Machine exterior house washing, window and machine cleaned insect screens, concrete and paving machine cleaning, tiled roof cleaning.
What areas does your business service? Samford, Highvale, Wights Mountain, Camp Mountain, Mt Nebo, Mt Glorious, Dayboro, Mt Mee, Closeburn, Mt Samson, Cashmere and Eatons Hill.
What was your first job? Working in a supermarket in Rockhampton at age 13.
How did you get into your current line of work? In March 1988, I asked Mrs Bev Austin from Mt Nebo if she wanted her windows cleaned as I was thinking of starting a window cleaning business. If she had said no I would have left it at that. Fortunately she said yes! Soon after, Mrs Hilary Harley of Samford asked me if I would wash her house which was a challenge but achievable. 5000 homes later I am still cleaning!
Why is a business like yours so important? As a service industry, housewashing evolved in the late 1980s with the need to present homes for sale and preserve their original cleanliness, largely affected by the humidity of Queensland. Windows and screens have become predominant features of homes as people embrace views, breezes and bug prevention which has led to an increase in the window/screen cleaning business. Water saving cleaning machines evolved and became mandatory in the past two years in South East Queensland’s water crisis, allowing our industry to continue to function.
Before your current job, what were your previous occupations? I worked 15 years in various retail management roles with retailers Myer, Norman Ross and as a store manager of Waltons Fortitude Valley department store. This latter store closed in 1988 and, along with 30 of my staff, I was retrenched. It was time to take my future into my own hands and start a window cleaning business.
What do your customers most appreciate about your services? Returning their phone calls, punctuality, proudly aiming to be a perfectionist with my work and presenting their house as clean as I would want my house. Also, to take an interest in them as individuals as well as clients! I find having a web site is of benefit to them as well.
What is the best part of your job? Looking back at the end of the day and seeing how I have transformed a tired looking house into something fresh, as though the house has been repainted, with the resultant praise from the owner. And, to top it off, being paid!
What advice would you give to anyone considering becoming a house washer? Be prepared for hard work but if you want to grow the business, you will need to achieve the holy grail of receiving referrals from people you have just worked for.
If you didn’t work in your current job, what job would you like to do? Having an events management company.

Window cleaner just hanging around: Sebastien Kazimierski, who has been working as an abseiler/cleaner for close to 10 years, could imagine doing any other job. “This is the first job I've ever had that I will never get bored of,” Mr Kazimierski said. “I like the heights, working on my own, having to look after my own safety and the beach views.” Mr Kazimierski, who was cleaning the Tweed Ultima apartments yesterday with three of his fellow workmates at All Industrial Abseilers, began abseiling in his native Poland and has loved the job ever since. “I started out rock climbing before one of my friends asked me to do some abseiling for his business,” he said.
“I had a break from doing it when I came to Australia and I really missed it. “I really couldn't wait to get back up here. “It's the best thing that I could ever do.” Mr Kazimierski has worked up and down the Gold Coast, but especially loves coming to the Tweed to work. “I love working anywhere near the beach.” His workmate Tom Kane said the weather had been a small issue yesterday, with the early morning rain halting their progress before the wind caused them to be very cautious. “It's pretty hard working when it's windy like this,” Mr Kane said. “You definitely can't work when it's too windy, otherwise your ropes end up getting tangled with the other guys and you can get dragged. It's too dangerous.”

Nuneaton cleaning company boss nominate for award: A Nuneaton businesswoman, who set up a cleaning company with her husband, has been nominated for a top award. The managing director of Reflekt Cleaning, Helen Quinney, of Stockingford, is shortlisted in the Business Person of the Year category for the Midland Business Awards. Reflekt is a commercial window cleaning company based at Haunchwood Park Industrial Estate, in Galley Common, which offers services across the Midlands. Helen set up the company three years ago with her husband, Wayne, a former window cleaner. Both work as joint directors in operations and business strategy. The company has seen tremendous growth. She is among three finalists in this category: “Its a real honour to have been nominated and then shortlisted for the award. I am proud of our achievements so far and excited about what the award will mean to us.

Window cleaning with a difference: Glaziers have restored one of the most important pieces of medieval stained glass in the world. It's taken ten years of painstaking work to clean and reveal the beauty of the St William Window in York Minster. "The huge window, as restored, is amazing" says the Dean of York the Very Reverend Keith Jones. Over the centuries the St William window has been mended many times, using lead that has gradually obscured the beauty of the window. "St William Window." One of the most important pieces of medieval stained glass in the world. Found in the North Quire Aisle of York Minster. Window finished in 1414. Shows the miracles of St William of York. Restoration carried out by York Glaziers Trust.

Bowls, an Algarve invite for Hickey: SIDDAL bowler Graham Hickey (pictured) has been given the perfect tonic for a troublesome knee problem - the offer of a free trip to Portugal in March to launch crown green bowls on the Algarve. Twice Yorkshire Merit winner Hickey is one of 16 top players who have been invited to take part in a five-day tournament to celebrate the opening of the Amendoeira Bowls Club near historic Silves, a 35 minute drive from Faro airport. Elland-raised Graeme Wilson, Brian Duncan, Noel Burrows, Gary Ellis and Lee Lawton are among others who have been given the chance to compete for £5,000 in crown and flat green competitions running from Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20. Window cleaner Hickey is determined to have some spring sunshine after having to cope with an increasingly painful right knee during the last year.

Gun gang members face long jail terms: Five gang members are today facing jail terms for their roles in a double shooting case which rocked Preston's Callon estate.Until today, the Lancashire Evening Post has been prevented from revealing the full story behind the street shooting which took place almost exactly a year ago today. It can now be revealed that gang members Lee Walsh and John Paul Newsham were convicted of wounding with intent after blasting Mark Whittle and Christopher Ianson at 2.30am on January 26, last year. The pair were acquitted of attempting to murder the two men in October but Newsham, of Devonshire Place, Fishwick, pleaded guilty to two counts of wounding, and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Co-defendant Walsh, of Willow Crescent, Ribbleton, was found guilty of two counts of wounding with intent. He was cleared of the attempted murder of Mr Whittle and of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. Mr Whittle, 29, a former window cleaner, was blinded in his right eye, while Mr Ianson, 27, received 40 pellet wounds. The incident is said to have arisen from a feud between Walsh and Newsham's gang and Mr Whittle and Mr Ianson after alleged name calling relating to the former girlfriend of one of their associates - Mr Whittle's sister.

Plain abseiling at the town hall: BOLTON Town Hall is not your everyday abseiling venue. But a team of stone masons are using ropes to explore every nook and cranny of the building. They are scaling the heights to check the brickwork — which has not been examined for a number of years — ahead of possible improvement works at the town hall. Staff from specialist abseil firm Russell Finney Industrial Abseiling Services are supervising while inspectors from masonry company Stone Central, who have been trained in abseiling techniques, check the town hall for any wear and tear or damage. Bolton Council says the move will save money too as the alternative to abseiling would be the erection of scaffolding — expensive, time-consuming and unsightly by comparison. The work started on Saturday with five men scaling the clock tower over the weekend to start the inspection. Russell Finney, managing director of Russell Finney Industrial Abseiling Services, which is based in Warrington, is used to working on oil rigs across the globe. He said: “This is the first time I’ve done Bolton Town Hall but we do all sorts of inspections, window cleaning, signage and more.

A BURGLAR who tricked his way into the homes of two elderly men in Warsop has been jailed for three years. Garry Chadwick (28), of Nethercross Drive, Warsop, stole money to feed his drug addiction, spending it all on heroin. Chadwick told his first victim, an 81-year-old man on Sherwood Street, that he was doing a college assignment on pit closures. Prosecutor Sarah Knight told Nottingham Crown Court on Monday how the man invited Chadwick into his house because he recognised him from window cleaning he had done with his father. "He asked for some writing paper then some tissues but both were at hand," said Miss Knight. "So he said he was allergic to tissues and needed some toilet roll." When the elderly man returned, he found £240 of his pension money missing. Then in November of last year, Chadwick stole £40 from and 84-year-old man on Old Hall Close.

This picture appeared on the BBC News Site this week, with a few comments on what size squeegee should be used!

More Info' on "Wedgie" in Australia

Window cleaner's miracle plunge.
AN abseiling window cleaner survived a seven-storey plunge from a Surfers Paradise high rise yesterday. Walter Torres, 20, was cleaning windows at the Solaire apartments on the corner of Ferny and Cypress avenues when he fell, hitting and dislodging a steel beam on the way down but failing to hit the ground. The accident came after two construction workers fell 26 floors to their deaths on a Broadbeach high-rise development on Saturday. Andrew Horchner, operations and safety manager for All Industrial Abseilers, the company Mr Torres works for said it appeared a problem with the abseiling ropes had caused the Robina man's accident. "It seems it was a procedural problem where the ropes got caught up on a higher anchorage and was not able to be seen by him or others on the job," said Mr Horchner. "Once he weighted the ropes it actually pulled through and he fell about seven stories and hit a piece of structure after the rope took up his weight, so his safety system worked because if it didn't, he wouldn't be here now."
Mr Horchner said company representatives had gone over safety issues with their workers following the accident. "We went through a full safety brief on Monday so they were more than aware of safety issues," he said. "Everyone was extra careful and extra sharp on the ropes so this is an unfortunate accident." Tony Clark, who is on holiday from New Zealand, said he rushed to help Mr Torres after hearing a loud bang and seeing him dangling from his harness. "We just heard the steel beam come down and we looked over from across the road," said Mr Clark. "I thought, 'He's dead' but then he put an arm up and I thought, 'He's all right'. "He was up about 10 feet and we couldn't get to him of course. "He started lowering himself down and we said (not to) and once he got to about eight feet we helped him down." Mr Clark said Mr Torres had blood on his face and neck and was whimpering in pain and complaining about his leg. Police from the nearby Surfers Paradise Police Station as well as ambulance crews attended the scene. A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said Mr Torres was taken to Gold Coast Hospital with neck and spinal injuries and was last night in an unstable condition. Workmates who gathered around Mr Torres as paramedics attended to him said he remained in high spirits, joking that he received a 'big wedgie' from his harness. Another man, who was working on the building and asked not to be named, said abseilers were well trained and it was a safe job. "It will be interesting to see what's happened," he said. "We all know exactly what we're doing, you're never scared." "We have a buddy system. We all check each other before we go over so it's really quite a mystery. "If you do everything right, there's no danger." Workplace Health and Safety are investigating the accident.