Five youths were rescued from the roof of a disused building in Belfast city centre after scaling the scaffolding on Monday night.
Police were alerted to the incident at around 7.20pm and attended the scene of the "George Best Hotel site" on Bedford Street with other emergency services.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service were alerted to the incident shortly after 8pm, with three crews attending the scene and the incident being dealt with shortly after 9pm.
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Images on social media showed crews at the scene of the building off Donegall Square South. Police said the five young people had gained access to the roof of the building.
Bedford Street was closed for a period of time while emergency services helped the boys down.
A spokesperson for the PSNI said: "Police along with other emergency services responded to a report of anti-social behaviour in the Bedford Street area of Belfast yesterday evening, Monday 5 September.
"At approximately 7.20pm, it was reported that five male youths had climbed up scaffolding and had gained access to the roof of a building.
"The road was closed for a short time while the boys were safely removed. There are no further details."
A local councillor has called for an urgent safety review of the historic Scottish Mutual Building following this incident. Councillor Gary McKeown has called for clarity around the site's future.
Councillor McKeown said he has been raising concerns around the site's safety for a number of months. He added: "I'm really concerned this incident could have ended in tragedy and it is essential that this site is made secure and safe so that we don’t see a repeat of this.
“I have contacted the Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd to ask that permission for the scaffolding to be placed on the public roadway is revoked, if it can be safely removed now that building work has stopped.
"I have also engaged with Belfast City Council and spoken to the Chief Executive to seek reassurances about the safety of the building and requested that adequate security measures are put in place by the owners.
“Following the collapse of the planned hotel development at this prime city centre site I am also calling for clarity around the future of this building. With the owners of the site being placed into administration and the building currently for sale we cannot allow it to languish indefinitely with no resolution to these issues.
"This beautiful listed building should be a landmark in our city centre, but instead it is a scar. It needs brought back into active use, and its historical features fully restored.”
Renovation work to turn the historic Scottish Mutual Building at Donegall Square into a multi-occupancy room hotel ceased in April 2020 when the hotel’s owners, Bedford Hotel Ltd, a subsidiary of Signature Living Hotels Ltd, was placed in administration.
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