A man was arrested after a rooftop stand-off with police and firefighters prompted a decision to close a number of roads in the centre of Brighton.
The 30-year-old Brighton man was spotted on the roof of a six-storey building in Palace Place on Thursday night (23 July).
He was arrested after the incident on suspicion of causing a public nuisance but later released.
Sussex Police said: “Police were called for the welfare of a man on the roof of a six-storey building In Palace Place, Brighton, on Thursday night (23 July).
“Officers and firefighters made attempts to persuade the man to come down off the roof.
“Some members of the public managed to gain access to the roof from another nearby building and assisted the man to safety.
“The man, 30 years old and from Brighton, was arrested on suspicion of a public nuisance offence and taken to custody.
“He has since been released and no further action will be taken.
“Several roads in the area were closed to traffic during the incident. These have now reopened.”
Glad to hear the man was safely retrieved and hopefully will get some help. I got caught up in the road closures as a result, as did hundreds of others, as I was waiting for a bus at the R1 Royal Pavilion bus stop, the new one built in the middle of the concourse as part of the new Valley Gardens build.
What this incident highlighted is that the new bus stop is not fit for purpose; it didn’t have an electronic screen above it, to convey times and news. No problem eh if you have a bus app on your phone? Yes, still a problem, as the live tracking of buses just made the bus that was due disappear off the screen, leaving scores of people wondering where the bus was and what to do. As there was no screen or update from the buses on their app, folk were left confused as to what to do. In the end we got a taxi. A Crawley bus did a three-point turn on the Old Steine, so thankfully those farther afield got home on their due bus.
Why is there no electronic sign above the bus stop? Very poor design considering the centrality and importance of this very busy bus stop, serving a huge number of routes.
Another poor design feature is that the bus stop has a glass roof which doesn’t shade folk underneath, so it’s boiling hot whilst waiting for a bus.
Whilst I’m on the matter of this VG new build, as a pedestrian, the concourse layout is very confusing as there are a couple of zebra-like crossings that then lead to nowhere, leaving the pedestrian confused how to cross to get to the seafront.
Who designed this? Bats?
My 78 year old mum can use the bus app, so maybe just get a grip. If you’ve managed to navigated your way onto this comment page, you can use the app but are choosing not to…
As for the screens , get rid of them, waste of money as they obviously don’t work.. and people can use the app now.
There was no bus update on the app. Even your 78 year old mother would have understood the comment better than you