A SPIDERMAN daredevil who died yesterday after a Blue Mountains clifftop stunt known as the “Death Swing” went horribly wrong was planning to return to France to begin a new life with the nurse who had helped save his life after another near-fatal jump a few years ago.

Toby Benham, 32, known as Lucky Chance, was swinging from a 30m rope when he smashed into jagged rocks at Hanging Rock, Blackheath.

After suffering extensive head and chest injuries in the accident, Benham was flown by a CareFlight helicopter but died at 3.30pm.

He was so excited about returning to France to begin a new life with his girlfriend that he had already bought tickets for the big trip.

The former Lennon Brothers Circus performer had been fighting for life in a French hospital when a cliff jump went wrong about four years ago.

He broke his pelvis, his lung collapsed and he was in a coma.

But Cathy Maynard, his current employer and co-owner of Eroni’s Circus, said he was nursed back to health by the woman who would eventually become his girlfriend.

“He had a very serious accident in France about four years ago and he very nearly died and from what I understand she was one of the nurses who was looking after him,” she said.

“He was in contact with her online all the time and was going over to live with her after he finished his job with the circus later this year. I know he’d bought his plane tickets and was looking forward to starting his new life over there.”

News_Image_File: Toby Benham with his sister Melanie / Picture: Supplied

Ms Maynard said that Lucky was known to take risks but was a ‘free spirit’ who everybody at the circus loved.

“The circus is very much a family environment so because it’s a small community everyone knows each other very very well,” she said.

“He was an absolute free spirit. He was a very happy-go-lucky person who we never saw in a bad mood the entire time he was here but he was an adventurer. He absolutely loved going out exploring and made the most of every single day he had.

“He’s probably the only person I’ve ever seen that truly lived every day like it was his last. Every single town we went to he went out and explored the area and was always doing something and I’ve never met anyone like him,” she added.

Just days before the accident, Ms Maynard’s teenage son had warned him against the risky jump and was devasted when he was told the news of Lucky’s death.

Hanging Rock, where Lucky Chance died, is a popular location for rope swinging.

News_Image_File: Police were called to Hanging Rock at Blackheath after a man swinging from the rock struck a ledge / Picture: TNV

“My son knew that he was going to do some jump and before they worked on Sunday night they all had dinner together and my son said to him it’s pretty dangerous,” she said.

“But he said ‘no this is a good one, this is safe.’

“He was worried about him and didn’t want him to do it but Lucky just didn’t feel fear. He wasn’t worried about it and was completely comfortable with it.”

The Death Swing involves thrillseekers attaching themselves to the rope and jumping off the cliff face and swinging under the rock like a pendulum.

Only last weekend Mr Benham had posted on his Facebook page that he was planning to jump yesterday.

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“If anyone I know wants to come out to do the hanging rock rope jump with me, I’m going up on Tuesday to do it! Lemme know”, he posted.

In response to a friend asking him to be safe, Benham replied: “You forget! SAFETY’S my middle name.”

Mr Benham told friends on Facebook that some university students would be with him to film the deadly leap.

The circus performer, who grew up in Western Sydney, almost died at the same spot in 2011 while attempting his 100th BASE jump.

News_Image_File: Toby Benham at Yosemite National Park in California.

Also called the Dare Devil from Down Under, Mr Benham got his foot caught in his parachute and it failed to open. But he managed to get it open just before he hit the ground and landed safely.

Last year the 32-year-old fractured his pelvis after a mishap at the Death Swing. Police said at the time it was an extremely dangerous activity. “It is shocking people take such risks and need to be warned about the obvious dangers,” Inspector Peter Scheinflug said.

“They are not only risking their own life but the lives of those whose job it is to rescue them.”

Mr Benham legally adopted the name Lucky Chance after he dropped out of high school aged 15 and joined the circus

He performed as the character “Stunt Monkey” and jumped off the Death Swing in the monkey suit.

In July 2010, Benham named the dangerous stunt the Death Swing and a camera crew working on a climbing movie called Smitten was there to film him as he flew off and landed with a parachute. But as he rotated the chute tangled around one leg, and fell 200m before it finally deployed, 10m from the ground. He hit the earth standing and walked away.