POLICE spent four hours trying to talk down a man who climbed 100ft up the scaffolding on the derelict Aspen House yesterday morning.

The Adver understands the 28-year-old was under the influence of a legal high when he decided to scale the 12-storey Swindon Council owned building, in Temple Street, at 2am.

The police were called to the scene, closing the road and asked for fire crews to attend as they were fearful the man might fall and suffer serious injury.

A unit from Swindon Fire Station attended along with specialist rope teams from Chippenham and Trowbridge.

The man climbed down at 6am and was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage. He was in custody at Gablecross Police Station yesterday.

On Monday the council and Wiltshire Police, issued a warning calling for people to stop trying to gain acess to the Aspen House site, which is boarded off, and climbing the building after a group of men were seen throwing objects from the roof over the weekend.

A council spokesman said: “The people who have trespassed in Aspen House are incredibly stupid. Anyone going in there without permission is risking their life.

“Even if they only injure themselves it could be some time before they are found.

“The building is being demolished, which means there are weakened floors and walls, holes in the structure where they might not be expected to be, and all the windows have been removed.

“The scaffolding around any building is dangerous if people aren’t trained to use it properly, and this building is 12 storeys high. There is also a flooded basement which people could fall into.

“The council and the contractor have put in extra security measures and police are stepping up their patrols around the building.

“The demolition and complete removal of the materials will take another five months or so, after which there are plans to put in a landscaped area.”

Last year Aspen House, a former office block, was purchased by the council as part of the ongoing process to regenerate the town centre. Due to it being in such poor condition it was decided to tear the building down.

The public are asked to report anyone acting suspiciously to phone police on 101.