Base jumpers hurl themselves off Kuala Lumpur Tower

Leaping off the Kuala Lumpur Tower from more than 1,000 feet off the ground isn't for everyone but for Daniel Witchalls it's pretty much just another day at the office.

Mr Witchalls, who revels in the nickname Dan-the-Man, is a roofer from London, but devotes his free time to throwing himself off extremely tall structures.

He averages a Base – Building, Antenna, Span and Earth – jump once every 3.85 days, and has been doing it for a decade. The jump yesterday from Malaysia's KL Tower, the 18th tallest freestanding tower in the world, was his 949th.

Fastened to one of the straps that keeps him attached to a parachute when he jumps was his soft toy elephant Koleshaker, which has now accompanied him on more than 800 of his death-defying leaps. For the jump he wore his trademark turquoise and white chequer trousers.

His Base jumping tally, which began in 2000 with a leap from a pylon in Kent, includes more than 100 buildings across 27 different countries. He has also found the time to complete 1,250 skydiving jumps. "Everybody dies, but not everybody lives," he says, as if by way of explanation, on his website.