A free climber from Manchester posed as a construction worker in order to scale and hang off the tallest crane in Dubai.
21-year-old Adam Lockwood, from Wigan, successfully scaled the crane without any safety equipment and hung off it with just one hand after he managed to gain entry to the 77-storey residential skyscraper, Il Primo – which is directly next to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
He posed as a construction worker and attempted to dodge the real construction workers on his ascent to the top.
Video footage documenting Lockwood’s death-defying journey to top of the 390 metre (1,280ft) crane has been shared to his YouTube channel, and has already racked up over tens and thousands of views.
Lockwood said the whole experience was “surreal”.
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During the seven-minute YouTube video of the journey to completing the stunt – which was was carried out at 5:45am, and mostly filmed on a GoPro – Lockwood pretended to be a construction worker who had forgotten something in order to gain access to the building, but after being initially shouted at by a genuine site worker, had to changed stairwells eight times over two hours to evade others.
With the sun rise and glittering cityscape providing the dramatic backdrop to the stunt, the video then shows Lockwood flipping and moving around the crane’s structure, and then hanging off the top of it with one just hand.
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The video then ends with him emerging onto the streets with a stunned expression, looking up at the towering skyscrapers.
Lockwood said he experience as “the most incredible thing I’ve ever done”, but described it as “almost peaceful” as his “brain is blank” when he performs stunts.
“When I first looked at the footage, I was thinking to myself: ‘This is it, this is the most incredible thing I’ve done,” he said. “It’s something I know I can do and that 99% of the world can’t and never will do, so I feel obliged to use my ability and enjoy doing it in the process.”
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He admitted he “slept for the whole day” afterwards.
He successfully scaled the 1,280ft crane without any safety equipment and hung off it with just one hand / Credit: Adam Lockwood (via YouTube – Nuisance)
This isn’t the first time Lockwood has attempted previous stunts, of course, and has most-notably dangled from the 80-metre San Siro stadium in Milan back in April, and later scaled the famous glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris to take a selfie.
In the past, he has also grabbed headlines for scaling Arndale Food Court in Manchester city centre during a Black Lives Matter protest on 7 June 2020, and then just a few days later, he dangled from the edge of a 600ft balcony at the Madison Building in London’s Canary Wharf – with video footage of both instances uploaded to the internet.
Back in August 2020, Lockwood was handed a suspended sentence and narrowly avoided jail after breaching a Manchester City Council injunction, and “continuing to risk his life” by “dangerously scaling” tall buildings.
‘Hairy men’ needed to play soldiers in returning major fantasy TV series
Thomas Melia
A huge TV series has issued an urgent casting call for, very specifically, ‘hairy men’ to play soldiers.
The exact show hasn’t been named in the casting call, but it’s definitely a major returning fantasy, and is reportedly House of the Dragon, the hit Game of Thrones spin-off.
This big on demand show is set to start filming in just two months’ time, meaning anyone considering shouldn’t wait to apply.
There are a list of key characteristics candidates should have if hoping for this role, including a great work ethic and a professional attitude, something all Mancs like to think we have.
The job description states that no prior acting experience is required, one of the only other things you need to be good at is waking up early (well that’s me out).
Most importantly, headhunters are looking for individuals to take on that have one big factor in common… lots of hair.
On the official website where you can submit your headshots and photos, you will find a mood board filled with ranging hairstyles that fit the desired look the show is going for.
Just one example of a long-haired man who fits the criteria for the returning series.Another similar hair style choice to the guide from the casting call.Credit via Unsplash
Most of the pictures on the site range from long curly locks to big bushy beards – it’s a shame Santa will be back in the North Pole by now.
All candidates must have grown-out hair, ‘overgrown scruff to longer beards’, this means no short, back and sides, or any ‘modern fades’ as stated by the casting team.
If the rumours are true and this turns out to be a shoot for House Of The Dragon, it would be great to see even more Northern talent feature in this show.
It wasn’t too long ago that fans and Mancs alike realised that actor Olivia Cooke, who plays Lady Alicent Hightower, was a local lass herself, born not too far away in Oldham.
One final and important note is that anyone who is likely to apply must make sure they’re 18+ and have a right to work in the UK.
Filming will take place across North Wales and the South East from March onwards, with rate of pay roughly £140-£300+ per day (depending on hours worked).
To apply for a chance to feature in the returning major fantasy series, you can do so by visiting the site HERE.
Greater Manchester set to be battered by ‘impactful’ heavy rain and wind this week
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester is set to be battered by some heavy rain and wind this week, according to the Met Office.
While things have seemed surprisingly more settled for the time of year over the last week or so, with clearer skies and chilly winter mornings being fairly commonplace, all that will change very soon, as the Met Office has forecasted that the UK is set to be battered by some ‘impactful’ heavy rain and strong winds as the week goes on.
Low pressure systems will bring a more ‘unsettled’ spell of weather, with a severe weather warning for wind issued for certain parts of the UK.
Today is expected to be filled with grey skies and light rain here in Greater Manchester, with cloud covering much of the rest of the country, and other outbreaks of rain elsewhere, whereas on Wednesday, the focus of rain will shift to southern England instead.
The weather looks set to turn more unsettled during the forthcoming week 🌧️ 🌬️
Thursday is where it’s set to take the biggest downturn though, as a front bringing heavy rain moves eastwards through the day, and it’s us here in North West England that are expected to see the highest accumulations too, with 20-30mm could falling over the hills, and some hill snow even possible over the Scottish mountains too.
A deep area of low pressure will also have ‘deepened rapidly’ by Thursday, bringing ‘strengthening winds’ to western parts of the UK along with it overnight, followed by more heavy rainfall.
Greater Manchester is set to be battered by ‘impactful’ heavy rain and wind this week / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“A very deep area of low pressure will bring a very unsettled, potentially disruptive, spell of weather to the UK through Friday and into Saturday,” explained Chris Almond, who is the Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist.
“Winds will begin to strengthen on Thursday night, with the peak gusts forecast through Friday in Northern Ireland and western Scotland. The wind will also be accompanied by heavy rain bringing some unpleasant conditions to end the week.
“We have issued a Yellow weather warning for wind, and with several days before the impactful weather, the forecast details are likely to be fine-tuned during the week, so stay tuned to your local forecast and keep up to date with Met Office warnings.”
Emily Sergeant -
1st July 2022 
