Fred Dibnah

Fred Dibnah MBE (29 April 1938 – 6 November 2004), born in Bolton, Lancashire, was an English steeplejack who became a television personality, a cult figure and, latterly, a national institution.

Quotes

• "One mistake up here, and it's half a day out with the undertaker."
• "Did you like that?" (said after he's just felled a chimney)
• "A man who says he feels no fear is either a fool or a liar."
• "I realise that steam engines aren't everyone's cup of tea. But they're what made England great."
• "The modern world stinks."
• "We've become a nation of con men, living by selling double glazing to each other."
• "Steam engines don't answer back. You can belt them with a hammer and they say nowt."
• "I set out as a steeplejack in my youth to preserve chimneys. I've finished by knocking most of them down."
• "Height gives you a wonderful feeling of grandeur. You're the king of the castle up here."
• "I'm just a bum who climbs chimneys."
• "Anybody who destroys anything made of stone should be prosecuted. It is not all beautiful, but it took a man all day to make one stone."