Hayling Island former paratrooper left with bruised bottom after leaping 140ft into the Solent in aid of charity

There were concerns that John Bream, from Havant, was left with head injuries after he plummeted 140ft into the Solent off Hayling Island but the father-of-three’s hospital trip only confirmed that he had a brusied posterior.

John, nicknamed ‘the Flying Fish’ said: ‘I got taken to hospital as a precaution – I got the all-clear and a pat on the bum and then out I went.

‘So yeah, just a bit of a bruised bottom.’

The 34-year-old’s safety team had estimated he would submerge to between six and eight metres, but Mr Bream said the wind meant he went deeper than expected, leaving him ‘a bit disorientated’” when he surfaced.

He said: ‘It was supposed to be perfect pencil but I had my backside out a bit. And it was a little bit higher than planned – we were going to go for 130ft (39.6m) and we ended up at 140ft (42.7m).

‘The trip to the hospital – it was literally my safety crew, they were insistent and they just said ‘no, we’d like you to go, get checked out’, and I don’t argue with them. Whatever they say goes.’

John was raising funds and awareness for service personnel mental health charity All Call Signs and the Support Our Paras charity.

He added: ‘Having served with some of the finest people, hearing about veteran suicide and knowing good people that have sadly taken their own lives is so painful.

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‘The transition from the military is difficult but I want to show that we don’t need to live in the past and we all can still achieve brilliance.’

Although it has yet to be confirmed by the Guinness World Records, Mr Bream should now hold the world record for the highest freefall jump into water from a helicopter, and a record for the highest jump into UK waters.

To support his charities visit gofundme.com/f/Highest-jump-into-water?fbclid=IwAR2TSkwi-23DlTK1v2jvdOEGRshHKqjku5j4PNrQtrDPc2XoZVPdxLudZac.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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