Things have become a little heated in a war between window cleaners in Manchester, it has emerged:

A window cleaner who stole a rival's ladder, leaving him hanging onto a window ledge, has been ordered to do 18 months community service.

...

The court heard Akhtar began threatening window cleaners working in the same area last year.

Akhtar claimed that one of them, Stephen Fairbrother was stealing his clients, and on a number of occasions had approached the cleaner and told him to leave the area.

He and a friend pulled the ladders from under Mr Fairbrother and left him hanging from window ledges - the window cleaner managed to jump into a garden. [source: BBC News, "Ladder stolen in cleaner turf war"]