Contractors need to step up security to combat worrying trend.
Here at DemolitionNews, we are enormous fans of social media in all its guises. We are active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and, in truth, we could not have achieved the global reach we enjoy without the aid of these various platforms.
But social media has its dark side; and I am not just referring to porn and online abuse.
Social media has spawned a new generation of fame-hungry individuals that will apparently go to any lengths for their 15 minutes of fame or, more importantly, the millions of views their exploits can attract.
Take, for example, Louis Cole whose rallying cry is “live the adventure”. Not content with recently visiting North Korea and naively reporting upon it as if it were a tourist-friendly haven of tranquillity, Cole and his friends apparently believe that breaking into a London construction site to film themselves against the capital’s night-scape is a sensible form of artistic expression. (See the toe-curling video below and fast forward to the 6.25 mark).
On this occasion, the site Cole trespassed upon was under construction. But it would be naïve to think that demolition is immune to such incursions.
Furthermore, Cole commands a huge global following. Many of his travel films have attracted literally millions of views and he is greeted as a celebrity by his hundreds of thousands of young followers wherever he goes. Cole, 32, is old enough to know better. But who is to say that a young person will not try to emulate Cole’s stupid and highly dangerous antics?
Demolition site security is generally very tight, but it is not impenetrable. And while it is designed to control the movement of people during working hours, it may not be quite so adept at preventing an incursion by a youngster with a camera, a YouTube account, an over-developed sense of adventure and a mistaken belief in their own immortality.
Be warned, the following video is not suitable for anyone with acrophobia. Fast forward to the 6.25 mark.
