airdog07
September 24th, 2015, 11:23 PM
Cambridge men shock onlookers by base jumping 215ft off Ely Cathedral
By Cambridge News | Posted: August 12, 2015
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276453/Article/images/27588503/10704442-large.jpg
Ely Cathedral
Cambridge men shock onlookers by base jumping 215ft off Ely Cathedral
Two Cambridge men shocked onlookers when they leapt from Ely Cathedral's tallest tower in a dangerous 'base' jump.
Visitors watched in disbelief as the daredevils threw themselves almost 215ft (65.5m) from the West Tower at around 2pm on Saturday and parachuted on to Palace Green.
According to one onlooker, once they had landed the pair "stuffed their parachutes into their bags and ran away from the cathedral down The Gallery".
Stephen Bourne, the cathedral administrator, described what the duo did as "extremely dangerous".
He said: "The two men booked tickets to go on a tour up the cathedral's West Tower and were almost at the top of the tower with a small group and a tour guide when it happened.
"They managed to separate themselves from the group and the guide and the next thing we knew they were over the edge of the tower with their parachutes and in the air.
"They were soon spotted by members of cathedral staff and members of the public but obviously it was too late then. What they did was extremely dangerous and utterly irresponsible but the trouble we have is that they didn't actually commit a crime.
"The only way we could prosecute them would be for trespass but the fact they bought tickets to go up the West Tower means they didn't really trespass."
One woman who witnessed the stunt, who did not want to be named, said: "It was shocking to see. They leapt over the edge of the tower and parachuted down."
Mr Bourne said: "We've spoken to both men. They live in Cambridge and they are base jumping professionals who take what they do very seriously.
"They told us over the telephone that they'd been planning to do this from the cathedral for around three years.
"We alerted police straight away but again I don't think there's much the police can do."
Mr Bourne said the incident is being treated "very seriously" by the cathedral.
He said: "I can assure members of the public that this incident is being treated very seriously by the cathedral and it is certainly something we will do everything in our powers to prevent from happening again. There are a few safety and security areas that we will be looking closely at. One is the issue of backpacks.
"A lot of people do come into the cathedral with backpacks – most people just have their lunch or camera in them, not a parachute.
"However it might be that we have to take people's backpacks off them before they go up any of the towers, or indeed come inside the cathedral.
"It might be that we also have to start searching people before they go on our tower tours and taking measures to prevent anyone from jumping off of any part of the cathedral.
"I hope we don't have to do anything too drastic like they had to with the Empire State Building, but it might be that some areas should be glassed. These are all ideas which we are meeting to discuss."
Base jumping involves jumping from a fixed structure or cliff using a parachute or wingsuit. 'Base' is an acronym that stands for the four types of surface that jumpers leap from: building, antenna, span, and Earth (cliff).
Due to the lower altitudes of the jumps, base jumping is significantly more dangerous than skydiving from a plane.
A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said the incident was reported to them at around 6pm on Saturday.
He said: "This is not illegal but we would advise people against putting themselves in any danger."
By Cambridge News | Posted: August 12, 2015
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276453/Article/images/27588503/10704442-large.jpg
Ely Cathedral
Cambridge men shock onlookers by base jumping 215ft off Ely Cathedral
Two Cambridge men shocked onlookers when they leapt from Ely Cathedral's tallest tower in a dangerous 'base' jump.
Visitors watched in disbelief as the daredevils threw themselves almost 215ft (65.5m) from the West Tower at around 2pm on Saturday and parachuted on to Palace Green.
According to one onlooker, once they had landed the pair "stuffed their parachutes into their bags and ran away from the cathedral down The Gallery".
Stephen Bourne, the cathedral administrator, described what the duo did as "extremely dangerous".
He said: "The two men booked tickets to go on a tour up the cathedral's West Tower and were almost at the top of the tower with a small group and a tour guide when it happened.
"They managed to separate themselves from the group and the guide and the next thing we knew they were over the edge of the tower with their parachutes and in the air.
"They were soon spotted by members of cathedral staff and members of the public but obviously it was too late then. What they did was extremely dangerous and utterly irresponsible but the trouble we have is that they didn't actually commit a crime.
"The only way we could prosecute them would be for trespass but the fact they bought tickets to go up the West Tower means they didn't really trespass."
One woman who witnessed the stunt, who did not want to be named, said: "It was shocking to see. They leapt over the edge of the tower and parachuted down."
Mr Bourne said: "We've spoken to both men. They live in Cambridge and they are base jumping professionals who take what they do very seriously.
"They told us over the telephone that they'd been planning to do this from the cathedral for around three years.
"We alerted police straight away but again I don't think there's much the police can do."
Mr Bourne said the incident is being treated "very seriously" by the cathedral.
He said: "I can assure members of the public that this incident is being treated very seriously by the cathedral and it is certainly something we will do everything in our powers to prevent from happening again. There are a few safety and security areas that we will be looking closely at. One is the issue of backpacks.
"A lot of people do come into the cathedral with backpacks – most people just have their lunch or camera in them, not a parachute.
"However it might be that we have to take people's backpacks off them before they go up any of the towers, or indeed come inside the cathedral.
"It might be that we also have to start searching people before they go on our tower tours and taking measures to prevent anyone from jumping off of any part of the cathedral.
"I hope we don't have to do anything too drastic like they had to with the Empire State Building, but it might be that some areas should be glassed. These are all ideas which we are meeting to discuss."
Base jumping involves jumping from a fixed structure or cliff using a parachute or wingsuit. 'Base' is an acronym that stands for the four types of surface that jumpers leap from: building, antenna, span, and Earth (cliff).
Due to the lower altitudes of the jumps, base jumping is significantly more dangerous than skydiving from a plane.
A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said the incident was reported to them at around 6pm on Saturday.
He said: "This is not illegal but we would advise people against putting themselves in any danger."