Warning over risks of tombstoning

Last year a man was paralysed after tombstoning in Whitsand Bay

People are being warned about the dangers of jumping off rocks and cliffs in South West England.

The warning, from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), comes as the summer holiday season gets under way.

Every year a number of people in the UK are killed or injured jumping into open water, a practice known as tombstoning.

The number of incidents around Devon and Cornwall has increased in recent years, according to the coastguard agency.

Raise awareness

Last month a 14-year-old boy was injured while jumping off Ilfracombe pier in Devon.

Several young people were also taken to hospital last year after jumping into the sea from walls along Plymouth Hoe.

And 25-year-old Steven Andrews, from Plymouth, was left paralysed after tombstoning in Whitsand Bay, east Cornwall.

Some of the people who have been badly injured tell us they just didn't know how dangerous it can be Ross Greenhill, MCA

Ross Greenhill, from the coastguard agency, said: "Sadly, we are dealing with deaths or injuries from this activity on a regular basis and we'd like to see far fewer devastated families.

"The campaign aims to raise awareness among young people about the risks involved in tombstoning.

"Some of the people who have been badly injured tell us they just didn't know how dangerous it can be."

Nationally, coastguards have dealt with 10 deaths and 36 serious injuries from tombstoning since 2005.

These statistics do not take into account inland incidents or accidents where the coastguard was not informed.

Although tombstoning is condemned by the coastguard agency, there are organisations which promote tombstoning on the basis that careful risk assessments are carried out prior to any jumps being taken.

Ben Norton, co-founder of tombstoning.com, a website which describes safe practise of the act as a "sport", wrote on the site that although a jump is over in a second, the preparation for it can sometimes take hours.