Man dies as bungee jump goes wrong

An 18-stone man died last night after hitting the ground during a charity bungee jump in front of hundreds of bank holiday makers.

Witnesses said the harness appeared to slip from the man's ankles as it began to tense at the bottom of a 60 foot jump from a crane above the car park of the Barn Inn and Restaurant in Swansea.

Christine Edwards, who was watching the event with her six-year-old daughter at about 1.40pm, said: "We watched about 20 people do the jump and then a large man stepped out of the cage to make his leap. He seemed to be very nervous and twice he went back inside while he plucked up the courage to jump. The third time he went out, he jumped off the side of a platform and began falling. About 30 feet from the ground the harness kicked in but then slipped off his ankles."

The 22-year-old man, who has not been named, was left unconscious and died later at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, the hospital he was raising money for by making the jump.

* In Brighton, a waterskier was killed after being run over by a speedboat that had been towing him. The man, who has not been named, was in the water when he was hit by the boat's propeller.

A spokesman for Solent coastguard said the man's wife and young son were in the boat and had been celebrating his 33rd birthday with him before the incident.