A MAN had a lucky escape last night after he fell through a skylight while on the roof of a 100-ft building in Kirkcaldy.

The 18-year-old is understood to be a former resident of West Bridge Mill, otherwise known as the Foyer, on Bridge Street.

The three-storey building is owned by Link Housing Association and offers flexible support to people aged 16-30 by encouraging them to develop their independent living skills and maintain their tenancies.

Each of the 30 residents receives practical assistance from support workers, who help them with everyday life skills such as cooking, shopping, budgeting and help with benefits, training, employment and health.

The Courier understands the man in question was asked to leave the project recently after problems but a fellow West Bridge Mill tenant, Gary Brown (18), said he still returned to his old flat regularly.

After almost an hour of wandering about on the roof the teenager lost his footing and fell backwards through a skylight.

Onlooker Martin Aitken said, “He was up there for a good hour and seemed to get more and more unsteady with every passing minute until eventually he lost his footing.

“The next thing we heard was the very loud sound of glass breaking and everyone thought he might have really hurt or even killed himself but then we heard him shouting again out so he couldn’t have hurt himself that badly.

“I would say he’s one lucky guy, though, because he could have easily lost his footing and fell the whole 100 feet down, not just through the skylight.”

An ambulance spokesman said the man had suffered “only minor injuries such as cuts and bruises” and was treated at the scene.

A police spokesman said, “We can confirm that a large police presence was deployed to an incident at West Bridge Mill at around 5 pm where a man was on the roof of a high building.”

It is understood a man will appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court today in connection with the incident.