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Rooftop sit-in causes rush-hour chaos

3:30pm Tuesday 1st December 2009 in


A MAN'S refusal to leave the roof of a gallery caused rush-hour traffic chaos as roads became gridlocked after the closure of the northbound A12.

The man entered the 491 on Grove Green Road, Leytonstone, at 11am this morning.

He climbed to the highest point of the roof and began playing a saxophone.

The man is believed to be a former resident of the gallery who has recently been living in an adjacent building.

The northbound carraigeway of the A12, which borders the rear of the gallery, was closed and a section of Grove Green Road cordoned off as a police negotiator tried to talk him down.

An ambulance and four fire engines were parked at Leytonstone Tube station are on standby.

Earlier a spokesman for the gallery said: “The 491 Gallery is a community arts space maintained by volunteers and has been running local and national arts events for the last eight years.

“The volunteers of the 491 Gallery wish to make it explicitly clear that (the man) is in no way associated with this project and we are working with the police to resolve his deluded and attention seeking behaviour.”

Comments(43)

backwoods says...
5:31pm Tue 1 Dec 09

Overnight temperatures should cool his ardour.

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ferdy55 says...
5:38pm Tue 1 Dec 09

What an idiot. Just been looking at the TFL traffic cameras & he's knackered the traffic as much as closing the tunnel did yesterday!!

Why close the road just for him & give him more publicity? Hopefully he'll fall off or bring in a water cannon & shoot him off!!!

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mv says...
6:19pm Tue 1 Dec 09

My journey home from work in Hackney has just taken me 2 and a half hours because of this selfish idiot. My husband has been stuck on the A12 near the Lee interchange for the past 3 hours. Why close off the A12? I hope the cold weather will change his simple mind so everyone else can get to their kids soon.

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AYNA98 says...
6:29pm Tue 1 Dec 09

I spent 2 and a half hours trying to get home from Hackney. The police closed the A12 and left the whole situation to turn to mayhem. They should have had officers directing traffic. The situation is made worse by drivers blocking roads and junctions. The crew of a fire engine had to get out and ask drivers to pull in to the side so that they could get their truck through the traffic.Luckily my husband was at home today or my children would not have been picked up from school. Do not worry though the offender will get a small fine which he will not be able to pay because no doubt he is unemployed. I wish I had all day to protest.

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mv says...
7:02pm Tue 1 Dec 09

I've just had another look at Google maps. If they think this guy can jump from the roof onto the A12 surely he should be Team Britain's secret weapon for the 2012 Olympics?

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hotredman says...
8:21pm Tue 1 Dec 09

Took me nearly 3 hours to get out of Hackney due to this guy. I saw when the roads were closed near around 2 at Grove Green Rd by Leytonstone Stn but thought nothing of it. I knew they said some guy was on top a building but thought would be just a 30 min job.
To make matters worst the police closed the eastbound A12, closed blackwall tunnel at times, closed the approach onto the A12 at Bow, closed Ruckholt Rd by Orient Way Asda to Leyton High Rd (which did not need to be closed. This made things far worst.
Could you imagine if some idiot decides to do the same when the Olympics goes on; he would really criple the whole of this area.
Maybe it would have been better to let him jump, that way they would have moved the body if he died and had the road opened long time

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mdj says...
8:24pm Tue 1 Dec 09

I just don't understand how anything this man might have done on his own could impact on any road, let alone cause queues three miles away.It's the reaction that has caused the congestion: what would they do in a real emergency?

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Usedtoliveinenfield says...
8:39pm Tue 1 Dec 09

Oh - am I hopping mad!!! My husband sat in this traffic jam for 4 HOURS!!! There was no information on the radio and no way of knowing how long this would last.
He left home at 5am this morning and still isn't back at 8.40pm.
Given half a chance I'd shove that lunatic off the roof myself.
And as for the overkill with emergency services - MAD, MAD, MAD!!!!!

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mv says...
9:27pm Tue 1 Dec 09

My husband has been stuck on the A12 for 6 and a half hours and counting...

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Julia Bouvigne says...
10:27pm Tue 1 Dec 09

OH MY GOSH

I finished work at 2.30pm and only managed to get in at 7.30pm

MY POOR DAD IS STUCK IN THIS!

THERE WERE NO WARNING SIGNS, AND THE PLACE THE IDIOT IS JUMPING ISNT EVEN CLOSE ENOUGH TO SHUT DOWN THE WHOLE A12. WHAT A BAD DECISION!

I FEEL SO SORRY FOR THE MOTHER WITH ASTHMA AMONG OTHER THINGS ABOVE, HERS IS PROBABLY A CASE THAT IS NOT UNIQUE!

I AM SO SHOCKED WHAT A TERRIBLE BIT OF TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT.

I HATE YOUR GUTS MAN ON ROOF, AND I HATE YOUR GUTS TOO PEOPLE WHO DECIDED TO SEVER THIS VITAL LINK THAT WE ALL NEED AND USE SO MUCH.

SO SHOCKING I'M JUST SO FUMING!

I'VE NEVER KNOW ANYHTING LIKE IT! GRRRRRR

I HOPE EVERYONE GETS HOME SAFELY, AND I FEEL SO SORRY FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE LESS ABLED AND STUCK, OR BREAKING DOWN! OR SIMPLY BUSTING FOR A PEE!!!!!!

YOU MAKE ME SICK MAN ON ROOF!

WE WANT BLOOD!

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knackered of Upper Walthamstow says...
10:48pm Tue 1 Dec 09

I have lost the will to live. Even though I am a musician and have every sympathy with the saxophonist tonight I would like to have ........ with a hammer. So lovely to have others feeling the way I do tonight sweet dreams. Looking forward to the Olympics!

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hotredman says...
11:08pm Tue 1 Dec 09

The guy apparently is throwing tiles from the roof onto the road and carriageway. So part of the reason why the A12 closed.

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Julia Bouvigne says...
11:08pm Tue 1 Dec 09

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE

i hope the mans falls and his saxophone gets stuck where the sun doesn't shine

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JacCusto says...
11:16pm Tue 1 Dec 09

I have been told the roads are closed, not because he has threatened to jump, but because he was throwing bricks from the chimney stack down from the roof.
Now those can reach the road.

I also have been told this started with him destroying a community garden near the property and escalated from there.

I think he is down now. In the last 30 mins or so.

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avidski says...
12:07am Wed 2 Dec 09

Isn't it about time the council did something about this so called "Art Gallery", let's call it what it actually is, a squat. Many thousands of people have been seriously inconvienced by this man and yet the "volunteers" want to brush the fact under the carpet that he was a resident who lived there.

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Earle Martin says...
12:19am Wed 2 Dec 09

avidski: Wrong. I know both the residents of the Gallery and have met the man on the roof in the past. He doesn't live in the Gallery, nor is he involved with the people or projects therein.

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Earle Martin says...
12:21am Wed 2 Dec 09

That "both" should be "all" above, it's a typo.

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JacCusto says...
9:08am Wed 2 Dec 09

avidski wrote:
Isn't it about time the council did something about this so called "Art Gallery", let's call it what it actually is, a squat. Many thousands of people have been seriously inconvienced by this man and yet the "volunteers" want to brush the fact under the carpet that he was a resident who lived there.
The man has nothing to do with the project.
Have you ever been to the art gallery? If not, Maybe you should, The work done to the project by local volunteers is quite amazing.
This was a problem building in Leytonstone until the community made a space that can be used by creative people in the local area.

The man has nothing to do with the work or people that use the art gallery.

It is not a so called art gallery. It is an art gallery.
And more effort has been put in by volunteers to bring this to the local area, than i bet the person above can imagine.

I fully condone the man on the roofs behaviour. Lets hope he gets what is coming for his actions.

But i, and many other Leytonstone residents, have only praise and support for the members of the art gallery. It has been an inspiration to so many people.

Keep up the great work i say!

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MatM says...
9:37am Wed 2 Dec 09

This is correct. The residents have nothing to do with the idiot on the roof who was causing so much chaos. Here's hoping he gets what was coming to him. If only he had thrown himself onto the A12 instead this might have been resolved much sooner.

Matthew.

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Rapid Vienetta says...
10:17am Wed 2 Dec 09

4 hours from Islington to Leyton last night, never seen traffic like it. Missed the O's match as well. All in all, a massive inconvenience, but it could have been worse. I hope this idiot realises he single-handedly gridlocked east London last night and anyone with childcare responsibilities, planes to catch and most importantly medical appointments and emergencies should feel even more aggreived than I do. I don't know what crime, if any, he can be charged with, but I for one hope he pays for it.

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southpolesurfer says...
10:58am Wed 2 Dec 09

Police management of this situation was appalling! My 7 minute drive from the Blackwall Tunnel to home took over 2 hours last night. A sharpshooter with a tranquiliser gun and waiting fireman's net on the ground would have quickly neutralised any (arguable) threat to traffic on the road outside. Emergency services have no mobility at all under these circumstances, how many lives were placed at risk by this incident?

There need to be protocols in place for these situations to avoid a repeat of last night's unacceptable road mayhem, which was completely unjustified.

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JacCusto says...
12:34pm Wed 2 Dec 09

He has been released on bail ??
I dont believe that they have let him out!!

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ianhaigh25 says...
12:34pm Wed 2 Dec 09

the old bill and emergency services were crap, how can 1 man cause so much caos, wait till the olympics u are going to get this all day long, the police and emergency services need to put a protocal into place for events like this in future, i could see him so clearly from where i live and was tempted to lob a brick at him to know him off the f-ing roof, police were a complete shamballs, and the negotiator who took 13 hrs to get him down should be sacked. waltham forest get ya act together.

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ellian says...
12:49pm Wed 2 Dec 09

This stupid idiot caused so much unnecessary chaos! I was stuck on the A12 for 6-7 hours trying to get home last night. With no toilet and no where to move, I started shaking for a few hours and now my back still hurts today.
Why was there the need to close off so many roads and make the situation worse? My car was stationary with the engine off for most of the time!
I hope this man on roof gets what he derserves and the people who assisted in making this situation worse than it actually was and blocking roads instead of diverting traffic should be fired!!!!

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Usedtoliveinenfield says...
1:04pm Wed 2 Dec 09

I hope everyone complains to as many agencies as possible about this - police, MP, Mayor .... they're all responsible.
I imagine there were hundreds of emergency services personnel hanging around there last night and many on overtime rates.
What about all the plastic police - couldn't they have been used to help traffic move?
It's obvious from all the postings that many, many people were distressed by this incident but I've a horrible feeling that nothing will be done to resolve similar problems until someone dies while stuck in a jam.
My husband finally got home at 9pm last night and the stress it caused both of us was dreadful.
Very bad policing.

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Rapid Vienetta says...
1:48pm Wed 2 Dec 09

On a wider point, the policing sounded rubbish, but it shows Londons roads are constantly at maximum capacity and there is no give in the system at all, a road closure in Leytonstone bringing traffic in Dalston to a standstill shouldn't happen. No easy solution but less cars or more roads, and neither of them will happen so this kinda thing is only going to get worse. Time to cycle to work.

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hun says...
2:11pm Wed 2 Dec 09

This morning I found out why it took me three and a half hours to cover a distance of under twelve miles.

According to the radio travel reports last night the police had closed the A12 because of a man perched high up in a building site along this route throwing objects at cars.

To close the A12 for this I can understand in view of health and safety for the masses, but to see a picture this morning of some vagrant perched upon a roof of some gallery on a road some distance from the A12 angers me.

Not just because of this selfish individuals actions but because of the inept response by our emergency services and their apparent lack of clear communication with the local radio stations.

The question is ‘what happens now’?

Who is going to compensate all those commuters trying to get home to their loved ones?

Who will pay for the dents and dings to the cars that I witnessed on the way home?

How about the delivery guy that could not make his delivery?

Did that ambulance (also stuck in traffic) with its lights blazing make it to the hospital in time?

And what about the football club that had to start a game (which it subsequently lost) without a ful squad because they could not get to the ground?

Aside from my personal gripes at not being able to get home to see my children before they went to bed, how much has this actually cost us as a city?

More importantly, what happens the next time something like this occurs?

I wonder.

Happy Christmas by the way.


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mr rusty says...
3:23pm Wed 2 Dec 09

The police are damned if they do and damned if they don't in an incident like this- imagine if they'd left the road open and matey had hurled a brick down onto the A12,going through a window of a hgv and killing the driver which would then go out of control and wipe out say a minibus full of nuns- there'd then be an endless string of angry comments about why didn't the police do something!!!Sometime
s the coppers just can't win!
Clearly they couldn't just shoot him down as some people would've wanted, he is bascally mentally ill and we don't yet have the death sentence in this country just for being mentally ill....bascally as far as I see it the only thing they could do is play a waiting game, and in the end nobody died- good result all round.

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cosiknow says...
4:11pm Wed 2 Dec 09

i think its a real shame the 491 decided to lie about this. the man (who's name is keith) lived there up untill recently and in fact lived there long before any of the current residents and "community volunteers" (none of whom are locals). i think his main issue with the new residents was the amount of drugs around. yes, the 491 has now started to put on some good community focused workshops and exhibitions, but how much is really focused at the hordes of underprivilaged around them, and how much is just playing the game to keep their free housing by inviting their not so underprivillaged friends to their 'community workshops"

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MatM says...
4:31pm Wed 2 Dec 09

I see you are a friend of this dangerous maniac who wasted tens of thousands of man hours and tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers money and angered all the people who logged into post here with his selfishness, not to mention the violent mayhem he unleashed upon those who he formerly lived with. Let's not forget that this was not a "rooftop protest", he escaped up there to run away from the police after he attacked the residents and vandalised their property.

And you are?

Matthew.

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Usedtoliveinenfield says...
4:45pm Wed 2 Dec 09

Mr Rusty ...... to follow my earlier posts and respond to yours - I understand from others who know this area (I don't) that the property being debated isn't on the A12.
I have no problem with what the police did at the scene but I do have a problem with what they failed to do for the taxpaying public.
They just washed their hands of any responsibility to help people out of the area ........ and, yes, there were loads of accidents.
The one my husband saw involved a massive lorry which bumped into a car carrying a woman and a couple of small children. No-one hurt but tempers lost - all adding to the helplessness.
And - I used to work for the police so I'm not prone to criticising them unnecessarily.
Can you believe we're still upset now, 24 hours on?

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avidski says...
4:49pm Wed 2 Dec 09

One has to ask the question is it an "art gallery" or a squat hosting all night raves, masquerading as a "gallery"?

Surely an art gallery doesn't have that many residents living on the premises does it?

I'd certainly be interested to see if they have public liability insurance, if so perhaps some of the cost of the police operation could be met by the insurance. After all he was "a former artist in residence"

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hotredman says...
8:42pm Wed 2 Dec 09

Typical eco tree hugger rubbish. It was not just one road was closed. There were 3 road closures, and to make matters worst the temporary traffic lights on Homerton Rd with 3 way control, got gridlocked as people going through at all directions.

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vexed of ilford says...
10:01pm Wed 2 Dec 09

I am absolutely incensed by anyone who feels that the way this was handled was acceptable 'as no one was killed'.
I spent two and a half hours attempting to reach my elderly, diabetic and partially disabled mother in Hackney Mare Street Tesco's yesterday, whilst sitting in a stationery vehicle with a slipped disc causing me untold pain.
I was so distressed I just wanted to cry as there was no way out of the traffic jam - every main road and side road was blocked.
There is no way that this event near the A12 caused such chaos and someone needs to be held responsible for allowing this disaster to occur that affected so very many people. After all, it wasn't a terror attack or something of that magnitude. How can we even think of holding the Olympics if this is how we respond to an emergency situation?
After reaching Hackney at 4.00pm, I actually got my mother to her home in Clapton at 7.00pm. It then took me another two hours to get home up Lea Bridge Road as there were temporary traffic lights by the Ice Rink which caused traffic to back up right to Upper and Lower Clapton.
I cannot put into words how angry I am at yesterdays events. Heads should roll for this mismanagement of the transport network for what was a relatively minor incident.

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Usedtoliveinenfield says...
10:15pm Wed 2 Dec 09

Vexed of Ilford - I can imagine how you feel as I'm still angry and I wasn't even there!
So far the police, the MP and the Mayor's office haven't bothered to answer me apart from automated replies. We're venting our anger on this site and that's as far as it goes.
All my emails to the above suggested that they read these postings but I don't suppose they'll respond - they were probably having dinner on the other side of London.
My husband is still shattered and has slept all evening as the stress wore him out.
Surely someone will hold the police accountable for this?
There should be an enquiry.

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Earle Martin says...
10:26pm Wed 2 Dec 09

Since you've posted more or less the same message to both news stories about this, I'll just repeat what I said on the other one.

There are no "all night raves" at the Gallery. On the other hand, they do hold the occasional, and I would note fully Council-licensed, party. The 491 crew are extremely socially responsible, unlike the man on the roof.

It sounds to me like you're tremendously keen to pass judgement on a place that you've clearly never even been in.

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Earle Martin says...
10:34pm Wed 2 Dec 09

That was a reply to avidski. This site's commenting system really needs some work done on it.

(Security word: fail-text. How appropriate.)

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vexed of ilford says...
10:55pm Wed 2 Dec 09

Usedtoliveinenfield.
..when I called Hackney Council at appoximately 5:45pm yesterday, they were unable to tell me what the problem was. I then got a call back saying it was caused by faulty traffic lights at the Graham Road/Dalston Lane junction. They had been forewarned that there was going to be a problem but the member of staff had only just read an email advising them that had been sent out at 3pm that afternoon.
We are all clearly aware that this was NOT the cause of the problem, but I too am waiting for someone from Highways to contact me.
I completely sympathise with your husband as I have been in pain all day and have been unable to do anything at all.
I just feel that the focus here should be why did things end up in such a dire state for all concerned, for hours on end, regardless of the initial cause.

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mr rusty says...
10:54am Thu 3 Dec 09

Mr Rusty ...... to follow my earlier posts and respond to yours - I understand from others who know this area (I don't) that the property being debated isn't on the A12."
They obviously don't know the area very well then!..............W
ell I do and yes I could easily hurl a brick onto the A12 from there so I suppose anyone else reasonably healthy could too.
He's sitting on the end house, the one closest to the A12 at the opposite end of the terrace to the kebab shop, and he was literally about 20 feet at most from the A12 retaining wall, or what you'd call a short stones throw, so personally I think the police made the right decision. yes I know it inconvenienced a lot of people but that's better than a brick going through the screen of a car or truck moving at 50mph.
Although the gallery people claim not to have any connection with him, he did some time ago squat in the house he was lobbing the tiles off. He's been in Bristol for some time but reappeared in the area recently....he is well known locally, i'm surprised none of the gallery peole know who he is!

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mr rusty says...
12:10pm Thu 3 Dec 09

I would add that for people who don't think he's close enough to warrant closing the A12, look at the pic at the top- see the old fireplaces on the wall? If that house were still standing it's back scullery would be overhanging the A12!!
I do sometimes think roads are closed unnesessarily, but in this instance it was the only choice the police had.

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MatM says...
1:10pm Thu 3 Dec 09

I guess in the age of health and safety you're not allowed to send officers onto the roof to take him down, but in this particular incident I would be strongly in favour of deploying police snipers :)

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edward osborne says...
2:14pm Thu 3 Dec 09

my mum and her friend set off from london at 3.45 to sheffield only after having a small sandwich to share before hand as they were getting some food once on the m1. They didnt get home till 4.15 am! 12 and a HALF HOURS and a couple of bags of urine later. They should of put a bullet through his head after throwing tiles everywhere they would of in the us.

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val ellis says...
3:16pm Thu 3 Dec 09

As a result of this idiot my daughter had her car towed away from a disabled parking spot and incurred a hefty penalty in order to get her car back. She could not get near to her house in Hackey and her young children coming home from school.I would like to think that the council will take a compasionate view on this matter as 280 pounds is a lot of money.

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More Waltham Forest News stories


The scene on Grove Green Road. LEYTONSTONE: Rooftop sit-in closes road Police at the scene. Traffic stopped on the A12.

The scene on Grove Green Road.

LEYTONSTONE: Rooftop sit-in closes road

Police at the scene.

Traffic stopped on the A12.



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