A MAN seemingly threatening to jump off a multi-storey car park caused disruption in Blackburn town centre yesterday afternoon.
The man, who appeared to be in his early 20s, was sat on the corner of the top deck of The Mall car park for around two hours as a police negotiator talked to him.
MORE TOP STORIES:
He was precariously perched in view of shoppers and people using the temporary bus station.
Crowds of shoppers and college students watched on as the man, who was wearing a dark baseball cap and jacket, dangled his legs over the edge of the upper deck.
Several times he appeared to gesticulate at a negotiator, who was visible behind the upper wall, around ten yards away from the man.
Police said that they were alerted that a person was on the ledge at around 3.50pm yesterday.
Police set up a cordon around the area close to the central Post Office and the service entrance to The Mall which sealed off part of Ainsworth Street and adjoining roads to traffic.
Footpaths close to be incident were also closed and buses appeared to be diverted via Penny Street. The B Block area of The Mall car park, which is used for shopping centre staff and Blackburn with Darwen Council workers was sealed off for around two hours.
The man moved away from the edge and was led to safety at around 4.50pm and was later spoken to by officers.
A spokesman for The Mall, said: “Our staff acted under the guidance of the police at all times during the incident.
“The centre remained open to shoppers and the customer parking area of the remained open throughout.
“Full access to the B Block area was restored at around 5pm.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article