A YouTube video of a thrill-seeker jumping 60 feet into a quarry in Fife has been condemned by the coastguard.
The video appears to show a young boy hurling himself off the top of Prestonhill Quarry in Inverkeithing, and was posted on the site this week.
Fred Caygill of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued a stark warning to anyone tempted to copy the ”tombstoning” stunt.
”We see this every year and people die,” he said. ”Jumping from height into unknown depths of water from cliffs, from a quarry face, bridge or harbour wall is foolhardy and dangerous.
”In past years we have seen people killed and seriously injured from undertaking such activity.
”If people want to jump from height into water, I would advise them to go to their local swimming pool, where there is a diving board.
”Thrill-seeking is not such a thrill when you are taken to hospital, seriously injured or your family hears a knock on the door from the police.”
The video was taken during sunny weather, suggesting it could have been filmed during the recent warm spell.
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, tombstoning led to 139 emergency call-outs across the UK from 2004 to 2008, of which 12 ended in a fatality.
Danger occurs where the water is not deep enough to cushion the dive, where there are submerged objects such as rocks, where the coldness makes swimming difficult or where there are strong currents.