Convicted killer protests on rooftop of Strangeways Prison in Manchester

Stuart Horner, serving 27 years after killing his uncle; has been on the roof since Sunday afternoon

Stuart Horner, jailed in 2012 for killing his uncle, has vowed to continue his protest for ‘40 days and nights’ (PA)

Convicted killer, Stuart Horner, has staged a protest on top of Strangeways prison for the last 24 hours. The 35-year-old scaled an 18ft fence to access the roof of the high security jail on Sunday afternoon.

This afternoon, Horner was seen teetering on a narrow ledge as he walked along the apex of a glass roof.

He then began stripping pieces of metal from the roof and throwing them to the ground as crowds of onlookers watched from nearby streets.

Watch the convicted killer’s protest below.

Horner was heard shouting: "Tell my mum I'm alright." He added: "We want to be able to ring our families. It's a joke."

Other inmates whistled and shouted down from cell windows as a woman shouted from the street: "Come down now love. It isn't safe. You'll fall."

One woman, whose son is in the jail, said: "I'm not surprised it has come to this. The conditions in there are appalling. My son has been in several prisons and he says this is the worst of the lot."

Horner smashed his way into a ventilation tower and took shelter as heavy rain began to fall this afternoon. Earlier on, the prisoner had stripped down to his underwear while scaling the rooftop.