LONDON A climber who calls himself “Spiderman” scaled a building of more than 20 storeys in Central London without ropes in an attempt to raise awareness about climate change.

Members of the public stopped to watch as Alain Robert, 45, who wore a T-shirt promoting the energy-saving website thesolutionissimple.org, climbed the 101 metre (331ft) Portland House building in Victoria Street.

Onlookers took pictures of the Frenchman with their mobile phones when he reached the top of the office block. He had paused to rest on window ledges several times during his ascent.

On his official website, Mr Robert wrote: “Spiderman is my nickname, but I have no supernatural powers. When I climb skyscrapers, there’s no special effect, no safety net.” He claimed to have overcome vertigo to become the “best solo climber”.

It is understood that Mr Robert has climbed more than 70 of the world’s tallest structures, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, without equipment or a safety net.

Police cordoned off the area and later arrested him for criminal damage and wasting police time. He was being held in a police station in Central London yesterday.

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