A MAN on his stag night sparked an emergency rescue when caught 165ft up Edinburgh Castle’s rock face in a drug-fuelled dare.
Duncan Scott was high on cocaine and alcohol when he was challenged by a friend to climb the world-famous castle rock.
Scott was in the capital on his stag “do” with friends when he decided to take on the “grossly irresponsible” dare last May despite atrocious weather conditions.
The 29-year-old was seen videoing himself and taking selfies on his phone as he scaled the slippery rock face around 165ft above the roadway.
Firefighters were then forced to climb out of a window on the castle in an attempt to reach the stranded man.
Scott, from Harrogate, Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to conducting himself in a disorderly manner and committing a breach of the peace at Edinburgh Castle on May 2 last year when he appeared at the capital’s sheriff court.
Fiscal depute Claire Crompton told the court concerned witnesses called in the fire service and ambulance crews after spotting the tourist climbing the rock face.
Ms Crompton said: “About 5am emergency services were notified there was a man climbing the north side of the Castle rock. It was raining heavily and there were strong winds.
“The man had no apparent climbing equipment and he was seen to be about 50 metres [165ft] from road level.
“A rescue team had to go out of a window at Edinburgh Castle to reach the accused. He was taking videos and pictures of himself on his mobile phone.”
Scott was eventually rescued after an hour on the rock face and admitted to police he had been “challenged to climb the rock face by a friend”.
The electrical engineer, who represented himself, told the court he had been drinking alcohol and taking cocaine before he took on the dare.
He said he climbed over a fence at Johnstone Terrace before attempting to scale the rock.
He said: “I was taking videos of myself as I was climbing and sending them to my friends.
“When I reached the top I turned to come back down and heard a voice telling me not to move.”
A firefighter then exited a window on the rock face, abseiled down the steep rock and clipped Scott on to him before both men were pulled to safety.
Scott added: “It was a challenge – it was my stag ‘do’. I was under the influence of alcohol and I’d had a line of cocaine at a party.
“Other than that there is no real reason other than stupidity and bravado.”
Sheriff William Taylor told Scott: “This was grossly irresponsible of you to have taken the actions you did.
“The public purse suffered because of your actions and you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.”
Scott was sentenced to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work in the community.
Previous incidents of people climbing the rock led Edinburgh City Council to put up signs warning of the dangers.
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