Youngsters risking their lives to go tombstoning
4:10pm Monday 12th May 2008
Teenagers risked their own lives to throw themselves off a Hampshire road bridge 25 feet into water below.
The youngsters ignored safety warnings to take part in the perilous craze of tombstoning.
Lining up one by one a group of around ten youths straddled the railing on the Redbridge Causeway before jumping into the Test river - just yards from the stone base of the bridge.
It was one of a number of scenes across the county where youngsters were risking their lives to cool off, including jumping off the bridge over the River Avon on the A31 at Ringwood.
Today a 20-year-old man was left fighting for life in Southampton General Hospital after plunging 30ft from a Hampshire pier Police are investigating whether the man jumped or fell into three feet of water from South Parade Pier in Southsea yestrday afternoon.
The coastguard safety plea has also been echoed by Nick Biddlecombe, who was left wheelchair-bound when he shattered his neck in a jump at Lepe Beach eight years ago.
Nick, who is now 25 and requires round the clock care at his home in Cedric Close, Blackfield, said: "It is stupid to do it.
"I would say to those kids, look what happened to me'. You can go from normal to being wheelchair-bound in a matter of seconds."
Solent Coastguard watch officer Alan Waters said tombstoning was "pure stupidity".
"The people who do this are otherwise known as idiots," he said.
"The stark reminder is that it can end in paralysis or even death if they are unconscious in the water."
- The Daily Echo did not encourage youngsters to take part in this activity and does not condone these actions.