The crane operator had recently climbed into his cab when he suffered a sudden illness.

Fire crews used an aerial ladder platform to raise an officer from the London Ambulance Service into the cab to treat the man and strap him into a basket stretcher at the site on Woodlands Way in Putney.

Station Manager Bruce Grain who took part in the rescue said: “The crane’s cab was high up, about a hundred feet off the ground and gusts of wind made the rescue very challenging.

“The cab was just within reach of the ladder platform at its maximum height, so firefighters were able to reach it without using ropes.

“There was very little room in the cab, which made treating the man and strapping him into the stretcher difficult, but he was lowered quickly and safely to the ground.”

The man was taken to hospital by the London Ambulance Service.