We have previously done news round ups and they have gone down pretty well with our readers. So we thought we would do another one to share some of the most interesting ladder news currently available. We have picked three stories from across the globe that include; a call for ladders to be redesigned, a climbing challenge and a risky way to use them. We hope this news round up will help spread our passion for ladders! Firstly we begin with a question:

Will Ladders Ever be Redesigned?

Recently Do It Yourself and decorating projects have become an increasingly popular hobby for many people across the world. But, with that trend comes an increase in the number of serious injuries and accidents in and around the home. Or so a recent report from a hospital in Australia has declared. In fact, it has been stated that the number of ladder related deaths or serious injuries have in fact doubled when compared to figures from the previous decade. We are sure that you will agree with us when we say that this is a very worrying statistic. As mentioned the reason for the increase has been put down to the rising DIY trend. But, this statistic has caused conversations across the world. Actually, we think that is underplaying it a little bit, the figures have evoked some serious reactions including calls for the ladder to be redesigned. When we think about it, the common ladder has been around for more than 10,000 years, so maybe it is time for it to undergo a revamp, but we are not quite sure if this would change the number of injuries or accidents. According to the report older people were more at risk than younger people and it would seem males are at greater risk than women. We’re not really sure why but that is what has been confirmed. It has been advised that anyone using a ladder in the home should ask someone to stay with them and hold the ladder. Take a look at some of our ladder safety tips if you are concerned. The research in the report came from a trauma department in a hospital in Australia. Secondly, we go from Australia to Ireland with our next news story. We are now going to share a recent piece titled the Dublin Double Ladder. In this story, a local person saw and took a picture of two men working on ladders, painting the exterior of a house. This may seem like an odd thing to take a picture of but what made the set up more unique was the fact that both men were using their ladders on the top of a white van. This, as you can imagine is a huge health and safety hazard in more ways than we can begin to explain. It’s unthinkable really, the danger that could have come to these two people and many others. But, to paint you a clearer picture, the van they were using was parked on the pavement in front of the house, which made it quite difficult for pedestrians to walk past. The duo then used the van’s roof to place the base of the ladder. Alarm bells ringing yet? One of the men also broke another ladder no no by standing on the highest step. A position that is not advisable. It would seem that these two men were in a hurry to get the job done and were willing to compromise their own safety as well as the safety of pedestrians in the process. Please whatever you do, do not try this at home. I'm sure we'll be seeing this photo later as an entry for the Ladder Association's Ladder Idiots 2015 competition! Now back to home turf with the final piece and frankly only bit of positive ladder news. Firefighters are set to climb Mount Everest by ladder. A number of firefighters from Mansfield and Ashfield are taking part in a charity event to raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity, King’s Mill Hospital and the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance. In order to do so they will climb the ladders until they reach the height of Everest. An incredibly hard challenge, I am sure you would all agree. The Firefighters will not be making it easier for themselves as they are set to climb the ladders in their entire uniform. The ladder they will use will be a thirteen point five metre ladder, that they will continue to climb until they reach eight thousand eight hundred and forty eight metres, the total height of Everest. The organiser of the charity event and current Firefighter at Ashfield Station, Paul Smith said: “We are really looking forward to the event, and although it will be hard work, we are hoping to raise as much as possible for the three charities. They all do such an important job in our communities. We are hoping to have fun too. We all do regular exercise and training as part of our jobs, but this will be all day, so it will certainly be a challenge for the team.” We hope you enjoyed our latest roundup, we certainly did and we look forward to bringing you another roundup in the near future. If you find any interesting ladder news we would love for you to share it with us. You never know, it may even find its way on to our next roundup.