COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Police using drone to search crane at Belgrade Plaza building site just off Coventry ring road



The emergency services are tonight at a Coventry city centre building site where someone is believed to have climbed up a crane.

Crowds gathered at the site next to the Belgrade Plaza car park and behind the Premier Inn hotel.

Police cars and ambulance staff are at the scene where onlookers told CoventryLive that someone has climbed to the top of a crane and was still there.

At around 8.20pm the police used a drone to inspect the top of the crane.

Many people were in the area for a gala celebration of the 60th birthday of the city's Belgrade Theatre.

Bizarre end to 'body' search at city centre building site

The emergency services were called to a building site in Coventry city centre last night, following reports of a body on a crane - which proved to be a false alarm.

Police and ambulance crews attended the site, located next to the Belgrade Plaza car park and the Premier Inn hotel shortly after 8pm yesterday (September 15).

It is believed police received reports of a possible body on the crane, or of a person scaling the crane, which led to a large scale search operation.

Crew members from West Midlands Ambulance Service 's Hazardous Area Response Team (WMASHART) climbed to the very top of the giant structure, in search of the person, with assistance from West Midlands Police 's drone unit.

Thankfully, it wasn't a body that they found, but rather, a bag of equipment.

Once emergency crews finished a final sweep of the site, confirming there were no stricken persons on site, the massive search effort, which included police, fire and ambulance crews, were stood down.