'Irish backpacker' rescued from Australian roof after drunken nap

A young man, understood to be an Irish backpacker, was rescued by Australian emergency services after going for a nap on a roof and becoming stranded.

Senior Sergeant Garry Smith wrote about the incident on the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services Facebook page.

After highlighting a number of unusual call-outs, he said their latest strange rescue involved "a backpacker stuck up on a roof after the ‘gee-eyed’ male decided this was a good place for a ‘kip’."

Senior Sergeant Smith later clarified to AAP that "gee-eyed" was "Irish slang for blind drunk".

An emergency services team helped the man down from a roof in the Mitchell Street tourist precinct using a ladder. He claimed he had no recollection of how he got up there.

He was issued with an infringement notice for his adventure and it seems the stranded sleeper has seen the error of his ways.

"He promised to walk home and not get into any more vulnerable situations," said Acting Sgt Jacqueline Lynden.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the quirky case, and identified the drunken napper as an Irish backpacker.

Senior Sergeant Smith told the site that although the rescue was farcical, it could have been far more serious had anybody gotten injured.

"It's got to give you a giggle but we've also got to be serious, we're talking about a very intoxicated person who has no recollection of climbing up to a very high place and falling asleep, he could have fallen and injured himself or a pedestrian," he said.

"You've got to roll your eyes, but also what do you do, it's just part of Darwin."