'Spider-Man' who scaled Forth Road Bridge jailed

Published on Thursday 5 February 2009 09:08

A REAL-LIFE "Spider-Man" who caused traffic mayhem after climbing almost 400 feet up the Forth Road Bridge has been jailed.

Ross Wilson, 22, took a taxi from his Edinburgh home to the landmark especially to climb it.

But stunned staff called police after he told them he had a drink problem before leaping the fence, clambering up wire cables and perching himself on the North Tower.

The crossing was closed for over an hour – causing massive tailbacks – before he was eventually coaxed down and arrested.

Wilson pleaded guilty to culpable and reckless behaviour at Dunfermline Sheriff Court and today a sheriff labelled his antics as a "mass inconvenience" as he sentenced him to seven months.

The court previously heard how the drunk plumber had taken a taxi from his home in Portobello on January 8 after making plans to climb the bridge.

He was dropped off at the bridge and staff were stunned when he complained "I have a drink problem and no-one can help me", before climbing up to the North Tower.

His solicitor Chris Sneddon told the court Wilson had recently been paid off and that he had no intentions of harming himself. He said the episode was a "cry for help".

Sheriff Craig McSherry was unsympathetic and told Wilson he had no option but to jail him.

"This was a very serious breach of the peace," he said.

Chris Waite, spokesman for Feta, said: "This young man put his own life in danger and caused a great deal of disruption to others. It was only thanks to the vigilance of bridge staff and the prompt action of police that nobody was killed or seriously injured."