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Legendary British steeplejack Fred Dibnah knocks down a massive chimney by undermining its base and then retreating to safety just as it collapses. From the BAFTA-winning documentary Steeplejack (1979)

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168,632 views • 6 months ago •via X (Twitter)

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35 Comments

John Blower6 months ago

A proper great Briton, should stick him on the fiver.

David Hennessey (semi-active)6 months ago

"Did yer like that?"

Lee Rogerson6 months ago

Career politics now ruin this country

Rave Dodgers (dodgeydodge)6 months ago

I met Fred years ago, im from Manchester and i used to be a steeplejack in until i fell down the inside of a chimney in 2009 and broke my back and lost my right leg that job was a graft

pete hamer6 months ago

still shown on bbc 4 the one demonstrating how to ladder a chimney & scaffold it is awesome

Jack’s Chinese Takeaway6 months ago

He probably did that for £500 These days it would cost £20m And we wonder why everything costs so much

Paulus ⚖️6 months ago

No messing about with him ..Legend

Althea 😌6 months ago

Immensely watchable was Fred! One of the few characters that made you stop and see what he was up to. There are so few like that these days.

Yanited6 months ago

Some laddie was Fred

Kimberley Paul 🇬🇧6 months ago

Watched this at the time as a 9 year old waiting for highlights of a football match to come on. This was a brilliant tv and was a fan of Fred’s till he died.

elonjunky6 months ago

did anybody used to shout DIBNAH! when knocking stuff over when you was a kid

Roger Pakeman6 months ago

Did you like that

Gunbuster6 months ago

He was first seen on Look North working as a steeple Jack on I think it was Manchester Town Hall... After that they recognised a Legend and he got on the news more and then TV proper. He had a traction engine as well. Met him at BurtonWood steam rally in the beer tent with my dad. Legend.

BtotheMtotheC6 months ago

True legend there 🫡

Magirus D6 months ago

Absolute legend. The original bloke's bloke.

Greasy Fringe6 months ago

Honestly, this show is soo good, Freds a legend.

Catherine Hardaker6 months ago

When men were men

Christine Bagot6 months ago

'did ya like that?' @marktheman2010

Pdtenn6 months ago

This guy was one badass mofo

Andrew Radgick6 months ago

In the days before Health and Safety and hi vis

dcwtl6 months ago

Good Owd Fred, Old School the best !!!🙏👍👏

Peter H6 months ago

Bit of a showman. Being that close didn't change anything!

Ray Planet Earth 🇬🇧6 months ago

And he also had to contend with hordes of kids riding Raleigh Choppers, getting in the way

jay766 months ago

This guy had balls of steel.

Boards.ie6 months ago

all for a frozen chicken and 2 packs of smokes.

Xpressfeelings6 months ago

Absolutely brilliant, what a character, all his shows were fabulously interesting and he had huge respect for his colleagues and his audience. Wonderful man.

Shhhh6 months ago

Lots of his shows can be found on YouTube, well worth watching!

Simplysimon6 months ago

A friend of mine was asking me about Fred the other week. Couldn't believe he'd even heard of him. Fred's reach is far and wide. Legend!

Me Lovely Mayo Mammy6 months ago

No recollection of watching this at the time, but magnificent tv

Easy Talker6 months ago

Champ!!

Starsky Agass6 months ago

The best of British. A true gentleman and legend.

James Pierce6 months ago

Legendary

Ungrateful Biped.6 months ago

@dalipolitial Bloody art school dropouts!

William simard6 months ago

DON'T TOUCH THAT !!!!!!

robbie 🍁6 months ago

That's wild. The haphazard tire and scrap fire. Burn whatever is around. Safety precautions lacking the enthusiasm of today. Funny little horn. Quite comical when he had to run. I gotta ask this ... It's low res obviously, but what or who is swinging in the upper right?

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"I’ve never fell off a big chimney. You only fall off one of them once." #OnThisDay 1979: Extraordinary steeplejack Fred Dibnah was introduced to the nation.

"I’ve never fell off a big chimney. You only fall off one of them once." #OnThisDay 1979: Extraordinary steeplejack Fred Dibnah was introduced to the nation.

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"Fred Dibnah, Britain's fearless steeplejack, has met his match - a tomcat called Ginger." #OnThisDay 1983: Fred Dibnah attempted to rescue a stranded cat from the top of a 160-foot chimney stack. After a two day stand-off, the cat was brought safely back to the ground.

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a bit more about ladders... every British person over 40 knows who Fred Dibnah is he was a steeplejack who repaired and demolished factory chimneys without a hardhat or a safety harness using old rickety ladders you can find the BBC doc about him on youtube a taste:

a bit more about ladders... every British person over 40 knows who Fred Dibnah is he was a steeplejack who repaired and demolished factory chimneys without a hardhat or a safety harness using old rickety ladders you can find the BBC doc about him on youtube a taste:

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