Teen lucky to be alive
A TEENAGER was today lucky to be alive after plunging through a skylight in a Doncaster supermarket.
The 15-year-old Rossington boy was only saved from plummeting 35ft to the floor by a net installed to deter pigeons.
Today emergency services warned the teenager - who was left suspended in the netting for an hour before he was freed by fire crews - could have been killed.
The boy needed hospital treatment after the fall at the Tesco store in Church View.
Watch Manager Dave Scully, of Doncaster fire station, said today: "He would have been very severely injured or possibly killed if it had not been for the net below the skylight."
The drama unfolded just after 7pm, while the store was still open to shoppers, when the teenager climbed onto the roof with another 15-year-old boy.
The roof is a popular evening hang-out for young people.
When the boy fell through the skylight he was caught about 10ft below by the netting which kept him suspended about 25ft above the rear yard storage area.
A passerby raised the alarm and he was trapped by the twine netting for several minutes before the emergency services arrived.
Two Doncaster firefighters climbed onto the roof and put a sling round the boy to prevent him falling further while the aerial ladder platform was raised to enable another officer to cut the netting to release him.
"We told him to stay where he was and not to move while we got him out," said Mr Scully.
He was brought down and taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary after complaining of chest pains. He was not detained.
The second boy was taken home by police.
Lindsey Rust, police communication officer, said: "We would like to advise the public that climbing on roofs of buildings is dangerous and unsafe."
A spokesman for Tesco said today: "We are happy that this young man did not come to serious harm, but this incident shows the dangers of climbing on the roofs of commercial buildings.
"The netting is there to deter pigeons but appears to have served another purpose on this occasion."
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
