Man leaves tap on for months, creates ice waterfall

Rather like the lead character in Up, Chinese man Wen Hsu refused to leave his home even though developers bought up every other apartment in the building.

As the weather started to worsen, he began to worry that the uninsulated water pipes running through the unused flats would freeze and leave him without any running water.

So he decided to switch on the tap and divert the warm water to flow down the side of the building and then, well, something happened.

"The water running into the pipe is from underground where it is above freezing and that is stopping the water pipes in my house from freezing," he explained. "If that had happened I really would have had to move out. They want me to move but what they were offering was not enough for me to get another place so I'm refusing to leave. I don't have anywhere to go anyway."

The ice waterfall has helped to bring attention to his situation in China and local officials are urging the developers to sort out the situation.

"The weather is warmer now so there is no danger of the pipes freezing," he said. "Although I think it might take awhile for the waterfall to melt. In any case I understand the developers may be prepared to make me a better offer now – I hope so. It is very lonely here in my apartment with nobody else around."

We're half-expecting the whole thing to be revealed as an art installation...

(Images: CEN)