WATCH: Daredevil crane jumper let off the hook

Tuesday 15 September 2020

A BASE jumper who leapt from one of the cranes at the Waterfront has been spoken to by Police – but was then free to go because he didn’t break any laws.

The daredevil jumped from the crane, which is involved in building the Jersey Development Company’s Horizon apartments, last Friday as dusk was falling at around 20:00.

A Police spokesperson said that officers had spoken to the man immediately after his leap, but he was not arrested as there are no offences under local legislation for BASE jumping.

Video: A BASE jumper leaps off one of the Horizon cranes at the Waterfront.

However, the spokesman added that it was not an activity that the force would support because of the obvious risks involved. A Jersey Development Company spokesman said that the Horizon site, which was secure, is the responsibility of French contractor Groupe Legendre.

It is not the first time that BASE jumpers have used Jersey’s limited high buildings and structures to parachute off.

In 2017, footage of someone jumping off La Collette flats went viral, and prompted a question to be asked in the States Assembly and locks to be changed on high-rise roofs.

Video: An islander leaping from a La Collette block in 2017.

BASE jumping – an acronym of the structures from which people jump - buildings, antenna, spans (bridges) and earth (cliffs) - is considered one of the most dangerous activities in the world.

One report claimed it has a fatality and injury rate 43 times as high as parachuting from a plane.