When you have a job that means working at height, then call in the Rope Access Team.

The 11-strong group are trained experts at everything from cliff rescue to crime scene searches. For instance, they have dealt with Fathers for Justice protests, anti- supermarket public order demonstrations and several body recoveries at height.

Regulations insist that any job that means working above two metres must be carried out by the Rope Access Team. Removing a demonstrator from a rooftop, or a person chained to a two-metre high tripod outside Hinkley Point nuclear power station, requires expertise to ensure it is done effectively and safely for all concerned.

The team’s range of work is wide and varied. Before the last election they ensured that the rooftops were safe around Bristol’s Arnolfini building ahead of the three party leaders’ debate. And in December/January 2011 they played a major part in searches of cliffs and quarries during the Jo Yeates murder inquiry in Clifton.

The Rope Access Team are part of the Support Group with specialist skills. Officers are regularly given training updates and assessments, and have to complete a minimum 80 hours of climbing with ropes a year.

Team supervisor Sgt Simon Tomlinson said: “You don’t need to be a mountaineer to qualify, but as well as obviously having a head for heights, team members have to be methodical and thorough, safety-conscious and, above all, fit to climb.”