Briton scales Eiffel Tower

A BRITISH climber has scaled the Eiffel Tower after hiding out while the monument was closing and then climbing to the top floor.

James Kingston and friends managed to sneak past CCTV cameras and patrolling military security guards at the weekend to scale the framework of the tower and were only spotted when they reached the top platform where an alarm went off.

They fled back down the tower and managed to evade searching security staff – even watching their lift head up to try to catch them. All the lights on the tower were switched on in the bid to trace them but the small group managed to keep hidden.

Once tourists started to return to the site the group came out into the open and were spotted again about 9.00 so climbed down to be met by security. They were taken to a nearby police station but later freed without charge – with the promise not to try to climb the tower again for three years.

The group, who regularly do adventure climbing on skyscrapers, towers and even the Wembley Arch, posted a video of their prank on YouTube.

James Kingston said on the video site he had been wanting to climb the tower for years and added: “I can now officially tick the Eiffel Tower off my list.”

See, below, how the climb went and some scary views of Paris... and James walking on girders