'˜Tombstoning' makes unwelcome return in heatwave
It comes after these pictures were taken during this week’s heatwave.
One shows a man diving into the water from the sea walls by the Square Tower, while the other captures someone in mid-flight from the nearby Sally Port.
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Hide AdThe daredevils were spotted risking their lives, despite repeated calls for people not to take risks.
Semi-retired Graham Dooley, 66, was visiting his partner in Portsmouth when they saw a large group of young people tombstoning from Sally Port in Southsea.
He recalls watching a friend of his die when they were teenagers after a tombstoning accident in Weymouth.
Mr Dooley said: ‘I was with a gang of fellow apprentices in Weymouth, when I watched my friend dive from the bridge into the harbour.
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Hide Ad‘The water was shallow and he broke his neck. He later died.
‘In Southsea, there were kids as young as eight or nine jumping in. The shallow tide meant that they barely made it into the water.
‘I’m not trying to curb people’s fun, but someone could get seriously hurt.’
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, 139 people were hospitalised between 2004 and 2008 as a result of tombstoning.
In 2014, there were 14 deaths from jumping or diving into water.
In 2008, Sonny Wells broke his neck after diving from South Parade Pier, leaving him paralysed him from the chest down.