Young climbers have been urged not to follow in the footsteps – and hand-holds – of urban climber Straw.

The 23-year-old anonymous climber from Strood featured on KentOnline last month when he spoke of his recent exploits climbing structures around Medway, including the tower block in Melville Court, Brompton.

But climbing instructor Ian Vickery, based at Strood Youth Centre, said there were safer ways of developing climbing skills without losing all of the adrenaline kick.

“It’s dangerous, you don’t know the risks,” he said, speaking of climbing urban structures.

“I’ve seen people on YouTube hanging off cranes with one hand over a 200ft drop.

“People could try and copy it and they’ll come a cropper.

“If you’re abseiling off a building and you’ve got safety equipment and skilled people assisting you that’s fine.”

Climbing clubs run at Strood Youth Centre and the Arethusa Centre in Upnor offered the best environment and expert assistance to help improve climbing skills, said Mr Vickery.

But he admitted such clubs didn’t offer the same experience as urban climbing, which gains it’s thrill from the very fact it is unlicensed and takes the climber off-limits.

As Straw explained, rock climbing was “not the same thing,” adding that the interest came from climbing an environment not designed for climbing, in order to gain a different perspective.

“I can understand that,” said Mr Vickery. “There’s a different adrenaline buzz.”

He stressed people should not climb in the urban environment, but said if they were determined to do so they should develop skills first and should never attempt to climb after drinking or taking drugs.

“I certainly would point them to climbing on a wall first to get used to it,” he added.

Police said they could not comment on Straw’s exploits without specific details of time and place.