Emergency services assembled around St John’s Kirk on Saturday night after a man was spotted perched on the building’s roof.
At around 10.30pm onlookers saw a man climbing up scaffolding on the north side of the Perth city centre church and then over onto the roof of the south wing. Police officers cordoned off St John’s Place around the kirk and St John Street also had a section taped off while the incident was ongoing.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) sent two fire engines to the scene, including an aerial appliance. The Scottish Ambulance Service sent out a vehicle from its SORT (Special Operations Response Team) in addition to a normal ambulance.
An eyewitness at the scene said initially the aerial rescue platform went up with a firefighter and a police officer in the cage to assess where one person was and speak with them. A ladder was also raised to the roof on the south side of the kirk. It is understood a second man was also involved.
Police negotiators were called in and spent roughly three hours in dialogue with the individual before being brought down by fire crews in the aerial appliance at around 12.40am on Sunday.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 10.25pm on Saturday, March 25, police were called to the St John Street area of Perth following concern for two men.
“The men were traced safely and reported to the Procurator Fiscal in connection with breach of the peace.”
A SFRS spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 10.35pm on Saturday, March 25 to reports of a person in need of assistance in Perth.
“Operations Control mobilised two appliances to the city’s St John’s Place, where firefighters used a ladder to help rescue a person who had become trapped on top of a building. Crews thereafter left the scene. There were no casualties.”
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