"While the incident has caused immense disruption to everyday business in the City of London it also posed a significant level of risk to the safety of people in and around Heron Tower at the time."<doc-sep>A skyscraper climber, dubbed the French Spiderman, has struck again - this time at one of London's tallest buildings. Alain Robert, whose feats have included climbing Dubai's 2,717ft (828m) Burj Khalifa, is tackling the Heron Tower in the City of London and was arrested by police shortly afterwards. The 56-year-old daredevil, who is known for scaling skyscrapers with his bare hands, said before his climb: "I fully feel alive when my life is at stake. It may sound a bit scary and crazy but this is the way it is." The illegal ascent of the 662ft (202m) tower - now known as the Salesforce Tower - is with no safety gear, without a rope and with bare hands. Uniformed City of London Police officers arrived at 1.37pm, set up a taped cordon stopping traffic around the building and ushered the growing crowd to move back and keep out of the road. A source close to the operation said that there were officers waiting for him at the top of the building and have escorted him away. It is not believed that Mr Robert had prior permission to climb the building and he was arrested for causing a public nuisance. Commander Karen Baxter from the City of London Police confirmed that a 56-year-old man had been arrested and was taken into police custody.<doc-sep>LONDON — A French extreme free climber who calls himself Spider-Man and who has become famous for scaling buildings around the world climbed Heron Tower, the tallest building in London City’s square mile, on Thursday afternoon. In images shared on social media, onlookers could be seen stretching their necks to get a glimpse of the climber, Alain Robert, as he ascended the imposing building, which is more than 750 feet tall. Why Mr. Robert decided to scale the tower was not immediately clear, but it was far from the first time that the 56-year-old French stuntman has scurried up the side of a skyscraper. He gained notoriety for high-profile ascents of the Eiffel Tower; the Empire State Building; the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, among others.<doc-sep>A stuntman dubbed the ‘French Spiderman’ has been banned from climbing any building in the UK after scaling one of London’s tallest structures. Alain Robert ascended the outside of Heron Tower in London with no safety gear on Thursday. The 56-year-old reached the top of the 662ft (202m) building, now known as the Salesforce Tower, in around 45 minutes. Alain Robert ascended the outside of the 662ft tall Heron Tower in the City of London with no safety gear (Picture: Tom Bamborough/via REUTERS) He pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire) The father of three, pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance when he appeared at City of London Magistrates’ Court on Friday. Amazon mocked for AmaZen mental health 'cry closets' set up on factory floor He was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years, ordered to pay £5,500 compensation to the City of London Police and banned from climbing the outside of any building in the UK. Chairman of the bench Edward McMullan said: ‘You are demonstrably an accomplished climber but there is always the danger that your actions could be imitated by those less proficient, with potentially fatal consequences.’ Prosecutor Malachy Pakenham described the incident as a ‘publicity stunt’ and said Robert appeared to have been sponsored, as he was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a company logo. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video He said the cost of the disruption to the building’s owner totalled thousands of pounds and it had also put a burden on the emergency services. Police, fire and ambulance crews attended the scene at around 1.40pm on Thursday. When Robert was arrested at the top of the tower by City of London Police on Thursday, he immediately handed officers his passport and the number of his lawyer, the court was told. Officers set up a taped cordon stopping traffic around the building and ushered the growing crowd to move back and keep out of the road. Robert was arrested at the top of the tower by City of London Police on Thursday (Picture: AFP/Getty Images) Police were concerned with his and onlookers’ safety (Picture; AFP/Getty Images) ‘Police were concerned about the climber’s safety and if he fell off the building, whether he could fall on persons below,’ Mr Pakenham said. Harry takes new swipe at royals saying families feel 'shame' over mental health Defence lawyer Adeela Khan said Robert, who has also tackled Dubai’s 2,717ft (828m) Burj Khalifa, had ‘no intention or foresight’ of the disruption he could cause. She added: ‘He has been climbing for 44 years and is an extremely experienced climber, one of the best in the world. ‘He has won awards for this sort of climbing – he perceived the risk of falling to be either non-existent or very minimal.’ He was sentenced to 20 weeks in jail, ordered to pay £5,500 compensation to the City of London Police and banned from climbing the outside of any building in the UK (Picture: PA) She said it was not ‘just a publicity stunt’ and that Robert ‘feels that he is seen as an inspiration’. She continued: ‘The general reaction of the public was extremely positive. ‘There were lots of people outside taking photographs and watching the ascent, all the people watching it were inspired by Mr Robert’s action and felt it was something they enjoyed watching.’ She admitted that there ‘was some commercial motivation” and said there “was a particular T-shirt he was wearing”. He climbed London’s Lloyds building in 2009 (Picture: AFP/Getty Images) Robert was arrested and released without charge in 2009 after climbing the Lloyds building in London. Speaking outside court Robert said that waiting to be sentenced was “quite scary” and he was worried he would be sent to prison. “For me now I’m really done in the UK,” he added. He said he does not know how much he will be paid for the stunt. Got a story for Metro.co.uk? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.<doc-sep>
A French daredevil known as the "Human Spider" brought traffic in a busy London neighborhood to a halt Thursday as he scaled the outside of a 46-floor skyscraper. Alain Robert, 56, was arrested after scaling the outside of Heron Tower for "causing a public nuisance" and got a tongue lashing from local police who said the climber could have diverted first responders from "genuine emergencies." "The incident this afternoon has had a considerable impact on police, other emergency services and the local community. Our officers, the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service all attended this incident taking them away from genuine emergencies," according to a statement from London police commander Karen Baxter. French urban climber Alain Robert, also known as "Spider-Man," celebrates as he reaches the top of Heron Tower, the tallest tower in London, on Oct. 25, 2018. Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP - Getty Images About an hour before the climb, Roberts told Sky News that he scouted London for two days before picking the 755-foot-high Heron Tower for his dangerous climb. It took him about 50 minutes to reach the top of his illegal climb, Sky reported. “For me, it seems doable, meaning acceptable in terms of difficulties,” he told the British news network just before embarking on his challenge. “I just want to make sure I am not putting my life at risk.” London police rushed to the neighborhood at about 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET) and closed down several blocks around Heron Tower, also known as Sales Force Tower. Police declared all roads in reopened at 3:14 p.m. local time (10:14 a.m. ET). The famed urban climber Robert, who only uses his bare hands and has no safety equipment, had also considered scaling the 525-foot-tall “Walkie-Talkie" tower on Fenchurch Street, or the 737-foot "Cheesegrater" on Leadenhall Street before settling on Heron Tower, he told Sky. Heron Tower is the third tallest in London, behind only the 95-floor The Shard and 50-floor One Canada Square. He's climbed other famous buildings such as Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the New York Times building in Manhattan.