It looked like a scene from a disaster movie: the workman's cradle, suspended high up on Forester's Tower, at Wood Farm, Headington, seemed in danger of crashing to the ground.
But firemen were quick to reassure residents of the 14-storey tower that the platform was safe and no-one was at risk.
Contractors were using the cradle to paint the council-owned flats and had gone home for the night when a mechanical fault caused one end to drop towards the ground.
Firefighters made sure it was secure before leaving it overnight.
Divisional officer Stephen Wain, of Oxfordshire Fire Service, said: "Firefighters climbed on to the roof and added some additional cables to secure it in position.
"It looks dramatic but none of the cables had snapped and there was little we could do. It is just fortunate that no-one was on the platform at the time of the fault."
Tower resident Gloria Pearson said: "We were all worried it was going to crash down on to the entrance below. Thank goodness no-one was on it at the time or they wouldn't have stood a chance."
Oxford City Council was expected to right the cradle today.
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