Four young men have been arrested after scaling a tall crane in Belfast city centre this morning.
A major police and fire service operation was launched to remove the men from the structure.
One man resisted inital calls to come down and sat on the arm of the crane, which is hundreds of feet above the ground, for over an hour. A fire and rescue ropes team, trained to carry out operations at height, was sent up to remove him and one of his colleagues.
Two others climbed down voluntarily.
All four were later arrested and charged with disorderly behaviour.
The PSNI say two males, ages 17 and 18, will appear at Belfast magistrates' court tomorrow morning. They are charged with causing criminal damage and obstructing the police.
Two other males, ages 20 and 23, remain in custody and are still being questioned.
The crane is on the site of a new hotel building on Clarence Street West.
The scene in and around Bedford Street was closed for most of the morning.
The emergency services criticised the four youths for tying up police and fire crews, who spent several hours at the scene. Police described the escapade as 'madness' and said it had diverted much-needed resources away from other calls for several hours.
The youths apparently climbed up the outside of the tower crane to bypass gates on its internal ladder, which were locked off.
They were spotted a short time after they reached the top.
PSNI Superintendent Mark Purdon, who co-ordinated the police operation, said: 'I think the only way that I could describe it is madness. . .They could have fallen at any stage and they would have killed themselves.'
