Les leaps into action for dam good cause

7:23am Saturday 19th April 2008

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MISSION impossible? Not for plucky pensioner Les Spicer - Hampshire's very own 007.

The fearless 65-year-old successfully recreated one of the most unforgettable James Bond film stunts when he launched himself off the top of the awesome Verzasca Dam in southern Switzerland.

And he has lived to tell the tale.

The grandfather-of-two imitated the opening scene of 1995's GoldenEye movie when, attached to a bungee cord, he plummeted to the base of the 220metre-high dam at a speed of 100mph, then sprang back up again.

Tremendous Speaking from Switzerland and still on a high, Les, from Milford on Sea, said: "I have done it! It was absolutely tremendous.

"You don't have time to be scared. It was absolutely fabulous, I cannot believe I have done it. I would definitely do it again."

In the film, starring Pierce Brosnan, the dam doubles as the fictional Arkangel Chemical Weapons Facility located in the northern Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The incredible jump was thrill seeker Les's 12th bungee jump.

He added: "This one was absolutely like nothing else I have done.

"When you jump off the platform you end up falling at about 100mph and you are within yards of rock - it is amazing. There was also no sense of deceleration as you come back up."

Les, who used to work in underground communications for the Ministry of Defence and now runs a bed and breakfast business with his wife Vicky, took on the challenge in aid of the Oakhaven Hospice Trust.

To sponsor him visit justgiving.com/lesliespicer