Reckless tombstoner risks his life to jump 200ft into the sea off the top of Durdle Door just weeks after three thrillseekers were injured at the same spot
- Daredevil flings himself off the rocky arch in Dorset before landing awkwardly
- Three other tombstoners have recently suffered serious injuries doing the same
- It comes as sunseekers have packed out beaches on the hottest day of the year
A reckless tombstoner has risked his life today jumping 200ft off the top of a rock - just weeks after three men were seriously injured doing the same thing.
The daredevil, dressed only in swimming shorts, brazenly ignored warning signs and a safety fence to climb bare-foot to the top of Durdle Door on the Dorset coast.
Dramatic images then show him flinging himself off the famous rocky arch and plummeting with his arms outstretched, before landing awkwardly in the water.
Dramatic images show him flinging himself off the famous rocky arch and plummeting with his arms outstretched, pictured left, before landing awkwardly in the water, pictured right
The jump took place in front of shocked sunseekers, who have again flocked to the beaches in their droves today, the hottest day of the year.
Incredibly, the man then returned to the surface and swam back to the beach seemingly unscathed.
A man who witnessed the latest jump said: 'I couldn't believe somebody was foolish enough to do it again.
'It was early in the day and there weren't that many people on the beach.
'I spotted him start to climb the rocks to get to the top. He must have been very determined because he didn't have any trainers on or anything.
'Then when he got to the top he jumped without any hesitation. He landed really awkwardly on his back and it made a sickening sound when he hit the water.
'He was very lucky not to have been badly injured or even killed, but then you don't know if he suffered any internal injuries.'
The incident came three weeks after three other tombstoners were hospitalised having carried out the same stunt.
One man suffered a suspected broken leg while another recovered from the sea had stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated.
He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
In another incident, a man suffered serious back injuries and spent three days in hospital before being discharged.
Two hero paddle boarders spoke of the moment they rushed to his rescue as he was drowning earlier this month.
Flatmates Michael Wiley and Dylan Kirkwood positioned themselves under the archway when they saw several people begin to jump off the top of it into the sea.
Drone footage taken of the incident shows the reckless 20-year-old jumper in black swimming shorts leap from Durdle Door into the shallow water below.
The Paddle-boarders can be seen racing to his aid, pulling him onto a large inflatable unicorn before swimming him to shore where he was taken to Southampton hospital to be treated for his injuries.
Mr Wiley said he found the casualty lying on the seabed 20ft down and it took five attempts for him to dive down before he could grab hold of him.
He said: 'He'd drowned, he was at the bottom of the sea. I'd let all of the air out of my lungs and when I got to him I wasn't sure I was going to make it.'
Although tombstoning off the iconic archway at the heart of the Jurassic Coast isn't allowed there is nothing to stop people from doing so.
Coastguards have issued numerous warnings against doing so, not least as there are submerged rocks beneath the door.
Meanwhile, a major incident was declared in Bournemouth today after thousands of people flocked to Britain's beaches, leaving the emergency services 'stretched to the absolute hilt' on the second hottest day of the year in a row.
Furious council bosses said they were 'appalled' at the scenes on the Dorset coast, blasting the 'irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people' as temperatures hit 91.9F (33.3C) in southern England this afternoon.
Visitors enjoy the hot weather on the beach in Bournemouth today as temperatures soar across the country again
Crowds gather on the beach in Bournemouth in Dorset today on another scorching day for much of Britain
Crowds gather on the beach in Bournemouth this afternoon as people make the most of the very hot weather again
Police desperately urged people to 'stay away' and 'think twice before heading to the area', while Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council said 558 parking enforcement fines had been issued - the highest on record.
A whopping 33 tonnes of litter has also been removed from the beaches today and there has been illegal camping, littering, anti-social behaviour - including drunken fights among beachgoers - and gridlock on the roads.
Detectives revealed the chaos caused by a 'significant volume of people heading to one area', where some people were so eager to get a good spot that they camped overnight on the beach.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council said services were 'completely overstretched' as huge crowds of visitors defied advice to stay away.
Extra police patrols and security are now protecting refuse crews and traffic wardens as thousands of people also continue to arrive in the town on trains, and council leader Vikki Slade said: 'We are absolutely appalled at the scenes witnessed on our beaches, particularly at Bournemouth and Sandbanks, in the last 24 to 48 hours.
'The irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe. We have had no choice now but to declare a major incident and initiate an emergency response. The numbers of people descending down here are like those seen on a bank holiday.'
The Liberal Democrat added: 'We are not in a position to welcome visitors in these numbers now or to deal with the full range of problems associated with managing volumes of people like this.'
Meanwhile there is a major alert for a high risk of sunburn especially in the South West with the absence of aircraft in the skies set to give the UK its highest levels of ultraviolet radiation because of a reduction in plane contrails.
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