Adventure of a real life Spider-Man

The hair-raising ascent, similar to the adventures of comic-book superhero Spider-Man, is likely to have involved him clinging to guide wires beside the 2ft-thick cable as he headed up to the top of the bridge, 500ft above the Forth.

This involved a 500-yard walk up the gradually ascending cable to reach the top of the tower. Wilson would also have had to scale metal fencing, 50ft above the bridge's carriageways, which is designed to deter such daredevil behaviour.

The 22-year-old is believed to have been dropped off at the north end of the bridge, where he climbed on to the main cable on the west side, at its lowest point between the carriageway and the parallel pedestrian walkway.

The bridge is often battered by strong winds, and sudden gusts blew over several vehicles last year. However, the elements would have provided little deterrent to Wilson on Thursday night, when the temperature was 3C and the wind speed just 10mph.

He would have cut a lonely figure atop the giant structure, which had been cleared of vehicles by worried bridge officials.

Climbing back down, Wilson was arrested by police and was brought right down to earth yesterday when he appeared in court to admit a charge of culpable and reckless behaviour. He will be sentenced at Dunfermline Sheriff Court next month after background reports have been prepared.

The court heard he had told a bridge official on the crossing's public walkway: "I have a drink problem and no-one can help me" – before jumping over the railings and starting his climb. Sheriff Donald Corke was told Wilson had taken a taxi to the bridge from his home in Portobello at around 10pm on Thursday, but had no intention of harming himself.

Lindsay Tolland, Wilson's solicitor, told the court he "was bearing a problem with alcohol" and that "his sentencing should reflect this".

She added that his behaviour was a "cry for help" rather than an attempt to take his own life. Outside the court, Wilson said he regretted what he had done.

He said: "It's not something I would do again, definitely not. It was very foolish on my part."

Police said they had been alerted by bridge staff who had seen a man behaving erratically. A spokesman said: "Incredibly, he managed to scale the north tower before safely making his way down. He then proceeded to run along the carriageway, disrupting traffic. He was arrested by officers and spent a night in the cells."

The bridge was closed to all traffic for an hour during the incident. The Forth Estuary Transport Authority, which runs the bridge, condemned Wilson's actions.

Chris Waite, its spokesman, said: "This was extremely reckless and irresponsible behaviour, in which a young man put his own life in danger and caused a great deal of disruption to other users of the bridge.

"It's thanks to the vigilance of bridge staff and the prompt action of the police that nobody was seriously injured or killed."

BACKGROUND

ROSS Wilson's antics are the just the latest in which people have illegally scaled the bridge.

Previous incidents have included two women who also climbed its north tower in separate incidents four years ago.

In 2000, a 25-year-old Edinburgh man was talked out of jumping from the top of the main cable by a friend who phoned his mobile.

Twenty years ago, police and firefighters talked down a naked man who had climbed one of the towers.

The Forth Estuary Transport Authority took out a court order against Fathers 4 Justice three years ago after the rights activists threatened to scale the bridge to erect protest banners.

The towers contain lifts and ladders to take workers to the top, but they are secured by locked doors.