Standing inches from the edge of the roof of a multi-storey car park, a distressed man threatens to leap to his death.
Trained negotiators were called in and a tense stand-off ensued.
But faced with a situation growing desperate by the minute, and the man looking likely to jump, one of the police officers at the scene came up with a plan to avert tragedy: hire a bouncy castle.
As counsellors began the delicate task of talking the 64-year-old down, police set off to hire an inflatable castle from a local shop – for £68.
The company they contacted, Bop And Bounce, brought one of their products to the scene and inflated it on the ground beneath the spot where the man was standing.
Fortunately it was not required thanks to a team of three negotiators who eventually persuaded the man to abandon his suicide threat following a stand-off lasting more than seven hours.
The elderly man was taken away from Swansea's Orchard Street NCP car park covered with a blanket following the incident, and was last night being treated in hospital.
Orchard Street had been closed to the public during the incident, which began just before noon on Tuesday when the man made his way to the roof of the multi-storey car park.
As darkness fell fears grew for the man as scores of people stopped to watch the tense situation unfold.
Then, just before 6.45pm, the man took the outstretched hand of a female negotiator on the roof and was lead to safety - to applause from the watching crowd.
Acting Superintendent Keith Jones of Swansea Central police station said: 'On behalf of South Wales Police I would like to thank the public of Swansea for their patience and tolerance, whilst we were dealing with this incident.'
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338865/Police-use-inflatable-bouncy-castle-avert-suicide-tragedy.html
Trained negotiators were called in and a tense stand-off ensued.
But faced with a situation growing desperate by the minute, and the man looking likely to jump, one of the police officers at the scene came up with a plan to avert tragedy: hire a bouncy castle.
As counsellors began the delicate task of talking the 64-year-old down, police set off to hire an inflatable castle from a local shop – for £68.
The company they contacted, Bop And Bounce, brought one of their products to the scene and inflated it on the ground beneath the spot where the man was standing.
Fortunately it was not required thanks to a team of three negotiators who eventually persuaded the man to abandon his suicide threat following a stand-off lasting more than seven hours.
The elderly man was taken away from Swansea's Orchard Street NCP car park covered with a blanket following the incident, and was last night being treated in hospital.
Orchard Street had been closed to the public during the incident, which began just before noon on Tuesday when the man made his way to the roof of the multi-storey car park.
As darkness fell fears grew for the man as scores of people stopped to watch the tense situation unfold.
Then, just before 6.45pm, the man took the outstretched hand of a female negotiator on the roof and was lead to safety - to applause from the watching crowd.
Acting Superintendent Keith Jones of Swansea Central police station said: 'On behalf of South Wales Police I would like to thank the public of Swansea for their patience and tolerance, whilst we were dealing with this incident.'
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338865/Police-use-inflatable-bouncy-castle-avert-suicide-tragedy.html
