A young man has died after falling approximately 150 feet from a phone mast in rural Cambridgeshire, in an incident that has prompted fresh warnings about the dangers of climbing telecommunications structures.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary were called to Black Dyke in Newton-in-the-Isle, a small village near Wisbech, at around 11pm on Sunday following reports of a sudden death. A force spokesperson said: “We were called at about 11pm yesterday with reports of a sudden death at Black Dyke, Newton-in-the-Isle. Emergency services attended. A man in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene. The death is not being treated as suspicious.”
An air ambulance was scrambled to the scene alongside ground-based emergency services, but paramedics were unable to save the man. According to the Eastern Daily Press, which reported the story, it is believed the man had been climbing the mast with a friend at the time.
Telecommunications masts typically stand at heights well in excess of 100 feet, with some reaching considerably higher. Industry bodies and safety experts describe mast climbing without professional training and equipment as “incredibly dangerous,” citing not only the risk of fatal falls but also long-term health hazards associated with proximity to active transmission equipment.
The incident echoes a public safety warning issued by police last year after a group of teenagers were found climbing a mast in Cornwall. Authorities at the time urged young people to stay away from telecommunications infrastructure, warning that such structures offer no safe footholds for untrained climbers and that falls from that height are almost universally unsurvivable.
The identity of the man who died has not been released. His next of kin have been informed. An inquest is expected to be opened in due course.
