A DAREDEVIL grandad from Hampshire died after the wing of his paraglider collapsed in high winds, an inquest heard.

Father-of-three Bill Young, 64, lost control after spending the morning in the sky paragliding with ten other thrill-seekers when the blustery wind caught his glider, sending him spinning to the ground.

The coroner ruled that he died from tragic misadventure when he was unable to regain control of the glider and crashed into the side of the hill he had launched from in Berkshire.

A former TA reservist, who had served with the SAS, Mr Young suffered massive internal injuries, including breaking all the ribs on his left side and shattering his pelvis.

Emergency services and friends rallied round in a desperate bid to save him. Despite their best efforts, the experienced paraglider, from Metuchen Way in Hedge End, was pronounced dead shortly before 1pm on Tuesday, July 29 last year.

David Thompson, senior technical officer for the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, told the Newbury coroner that the conditions that day in the hamlet of Coombe Gibbet had been blustery.

Described by his family as an “adrenalin junkie”, the inquest heard how Mr Young reached the height of the base of the clouds but several of his companions had stopped due to the high winds.

Mr Thompson said: “Shortly after launching he encountered severe turbulence at around 30 to 40 metres above ground.”

Before he could regain control or deploy his parachute, he hit the side of the hill.

Daily Echo:

Bill Young

Paramedics from the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance spent more than half an hour struggling to save his life but there was nothing they could do after he went into a “traumatic” cardiac arrest.

Berkshire’s assistant coroner Emma Jones ruled that the self-employed heating and gas engineer died from misadventure.

Mr Young had three children, Gary, Kay and Guy, and seven grandchildren. Gary said: “He died doing something he loved.”