THE adrenalin craze of "tombstoning" has been condemned in the UK after a man leapt 30m from a towering sea cliff.

Photographer Alistair Sopp captured the breathtaking footage by chance as the man threw himself off a cliff in Cornwall, England.



"Tombstoning" - which sees people jump into the sea from cliffs, sea walls and piers - has claimed at least 12 lives in the UK and left several paralysed.



"This is madness and should not be encouraged in any way,” a Cornish coastguard told The Sun.



"He's lucky to be alive. People need to be aware of the dangers associated with tombstoning.

"It is extremely dangerous and when it goes wrong it can have devastating results."



Mr Sopp, 25, insisted he doesn’t know the man who took the plunge and wasn’t there to photograph it.



"It was not a set up. I was down at a local fishing spot when I looked across and saw someone on the top of the cliffs,” Mr Sopp said.



"I thought there was no way he was going to jump but he did and I got it all on camera.



"It was a breathtaking moment. I couldn't believe he jumped from so high up."



Alistair scrambled down the rocks from his vantage point and called to the man as he surfaced.



He added: "I couldn't get all the way down to him but I shouted to him to make sure he was OK.



Mr Sopp said the jumper came away with sore ribs but said he'd put a lot of planning into the jump.



"He'd visited the spot at different tides and had gone down to the check the depth of the water and then waited for the right weather conditions.



"He said it was a calculated risk. It took him a while to compose himself and stop his legs shaking before being confident enough to make the leap.

"He said he probably won't jump it again."

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