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Convicted free climber who scaled 53-storey building blames quest for Youtube hits

Aerial view of Canary Wharf District. - Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Aerial view of Canary Wharf District. - Jason Alden/Bloomberg

A free climber who scaled a 53-storey building in breach of a court order has blamed Youtube for making him seek hits.

Adam Lockwood, 19, from Wigan, received a suspended sentence for breaching the order which banned him from trespassing and posting content online.

He was sentenced to three months in jail, suspended for two years, by a judge at Manchester County Court.

Lockwood's defence said his desire for YouTube hits is to blame for his behaviour.

The court heard how Manchester City Council had secured a three-year anti-social behaviour injunction order in 2019 against Lockwood.

This banned him from climbing buildings and cranes, riding on the outside of trains, trams and buses and entering construction sites in England and Wales.

It followed instances in which he had posted videos of himself hanging off the sides of buildings and cranes in Manchester.

Lockwood, whose Youtube channel is ‘The Little Nuisance’, broke the rules of his order three times in a matter of weeks. The channel has around 7,000 subscribers and includes stunts filmed across Europe.

The court heard that on June 7, Lockwood stood on the roof of the Arndale Food Court entrance during the Black Lives Matter protest, and on June 16 dangled from the edge of a 600ft balcony at the Madison Building in London’s Canary Wharf.

Footage of both incidents was uploaded to the internet.

The third offence happened on July 5 when he left an abusive message on a council answering machine, saying a council officer should be “shanked up” in the street.

Lockwood's solicitor said seeking celebrity and financial status from YouTube motivated his client.

He said: "It's all about YouTube hits. YouTube pay."

Deputy District Judge Lindsay Clarke described Lockwood's breach as "deliberate, knowing and wilful".

She said such stunts during the pandemic were the "height of stupidity" and motivated by "arrogance" and a "greed for celebrity".

Nigel Murphy, deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said Lockwood's actions were "incredibly dangerous" in normal circumstances, adding that it “defies all logic” during a pandemic.