A FREE-CLIMBER from Oxford who was jailed for scaling The Shard has admitted he could die after conquering his second London skyscraper in two weeks.

George King-Thompson, 21, climbed the 23-storey Unex Tower in Stratford, east London, without ropes on Thursday morning, nine days after ticking the neighbouring Stratosphere Tower off his list.

The former personal trainer said he aims to raise awareness about climate change through his climbs, and chose to scale what he calls the 'Stratford duo' because they overlook the railway station, which was deluged by flash floods at the end of July.

After climbing the 305ft (93m) Unex in around 10 minutes just before 6am, Mr King-Thompson said he feels 'calmness' after each 'near-death experience'.

The climber, who stopped for a vape two storeys from the top of the residential block, said: "You go through an initial stage of shock – and for me that element of shock is calmness.

"It is never a throwaway comment to say that I could die. I’m not a pessimist, nor am I an optimist – I am a realist.

"I could train all I like, but there is always that little percentage of a chance that I could die.

"So that is in the back of your mind, but, once you are on the building, once you are doing your thing, there is no room for any thoughts like that; it is just you in the moment, getting what you have come here to do.

"Once you have come out of that, the feeling is an overwhelming sense of, you are free.

Mr King-Thompson, who lives in Bermondsey, central London, said he has chased fear since he was 10-years-old, when he used to push himself to the limit by climbing walls without ropes, and running marathons.

He was sentenced to six months in Pentonville Prison for scaling the Shard in July 2019, and was released this year after serving half of his sentence.

He said: "A lot of people say how horrific prison is and it is, but my whole thing is I like stepping into the fray, I like danger, so I was, in a weird sense, quite at home there.

"I just like looking over my shoulder and not know what’s coming next."

He added that his mother is 'extremely supportive in a healthy way'.

Following his Stratosphere climb on August 3, the Metropolitan Police said they used a helicopter to search the area after receiving a call, but could not locate Mr King-Thompson.

The climber said he planned his ascent of Unex Tower so that if he fell, no members of the public would be endangered, and there was no police presence at the scene.