Daredevil stuntman

A British stuntman became the world’s first skydiver to land without a parachute yesterday, falling 731 metres to drop safely on to a crash-pad of cardboard boxes.

Wearing a specially made “wing suit”, Gary Connery leapt from a helicopter over Henley-on-Thames in southern England, aiming – with his life hanging in the balance – at a “runway” of 18,000 boxes.

After plunging at a speed of approximately 130 kilometres an hour, the 41-year-old landed successfully, but the anxious crowd had to wait for several minutes until he finally emerged from the pile.

Mr Connery, who has appeared as a stuntman in films including Indiana Jones, Batman Begins and the Bond movie Die Another Day, said the experience had been “absolutely amazing”.

He told Sky News. “I guess I haven’t digested what’s just happened... my calculations obviously worked out and I’m glad they did.” Mr Connery’s wife Vivienne said simply: “I’m relieved it’s all over.”

The stuntman trained for weeks in Switzerland and Italy ahead of the jump, leaping from mountains and cliffs to practise gliding in his wing suit.

Mr Connery made his first parachute jump aged 23 after joining the British Army and has since jumped from the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye.

He studied the flight of kite birds to improve his technique in the wing suit.