Idiot spontaneously combusts in bristol

Man bursts into flames during illegal bungee jump

A man is being treated in hospital for serious burns after a bungee stunt from a bridge went wrong.

Police were called to the 245ft high Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol on Sunday afternoon after witnesses saw the man leap from the bridge - and burst into flames.

He then cut himself free from the rope before plunging into the River Avon below, police said.

He was taken to Bristol Royal Infirmary suffering severe burns and was later transferred to a specialist unit at the city's Frenchay Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.

North Bristol NHS Trust has described his condition as stable.

Avon and Somerset police say they are investigating the incident and stress that jumping off the bridge is illegal. Bridgemaster John Mitchell said the incident had been seen by visitors and a member of staff.

He added: "Jumping and parachuting from the bridge is contrary to the bridge by-laws and by its very nature is an extremely dangerous activity.

"We understand one of the people involved in this incident is in hospital suffering from burns and we hope he will make a full recovery."

Clifton Suspension Bridge was the location of the first-ever bungee jump in 1979. It was undertaken by Oxford University's Dangerous Sports Club.

Story filed: 15:35 Monday 19th January 2004
Source: ananova


sorry, i really did try not to laugh...

i still don't understand how he got on fire

Yea, 'fraid I don't get it either

Yeah I like how the article nonchalantly neglects the most dramatic part, THE BURSTING INTO FLAMES FOR NO REASON.

I don't know what's funnier, him being so stupid or the original story completly neglecting how he got on fire.

what posesses a man to douse himself in petrol, set himself on fire and throw himself off a bridge ??? he obviously wasnt trying to kill himself so there must be some reason however strange, surely no one could actually be so remarkably stupid...I mean... does he not regard his head as a precious object or what ??? hes a Darwin award just waiting to happen isnt he ???

Its just plain absurd... he must have been making a vid. You dont do that without filming it do you ?? Can you imagine what Tommy Vance would say ???

i just wish I could ask the guy a few questions,

HMmmm I like the sounds of this...
*goes to get his jug of petrol and his bunge cords*
I'll tell you guys how it goes...

My Girlf lives about 5 minutes from there so I've been quite a few times, don't know if anyone else has stood on it but it's a damn high bridge (and the first Suspension Bridge ever built!). I certainly wouldnt fancy jumping off it whilst on fire!
If anyone ever goes there, there's a great place to poi on a lookout point on the Clifton Village side of the bridge that in this pic would be just up to the right hand side above the main tower.
In fact if anyone wants to meet up there for a spin at a weekend, or meet my girlf in the week (no shennanigans tho!!) drop me a PM cuz it's great either day or night with beautiful views. And at night they light the bridge up. It looks most beautiful from above it tho.

hehehe. this was funny. the knife he was planning to use to cut the rope broke so he was hanging on the end of the rope, on fire, for 26 seconds before he managed to get out a spare and cut himself free. Apparently his mate was filming it all so hopefully it will appear on the net sometime soon!

what an idiot

though it would have looked cool if he'd got it right
person 1: "wow! there's a guy jumping off the bridge"
person 2: "it's ok, he's got a bungee rope"
person 1: "oh no! now he's on fire!"
person 2: "wait! he's cut the rope"
*splash* *hiss of steam*
person 1: "cooool!"
person 2: "sweeeet"

or something

Yeh, im beginning to see it, hes still mad though The video is a must. Itll probably earn him a fortune.

you've been framed

lisa riley is my hero

anyway, i don't know what you mean. i have conversations like that all the time

like ya do

That is insane!

What i want to know is how he came up with the idea...?

i would hazard a guess that the culprit was:

a) alcohol
b) a bet
c) a bet while drunk on alcohol, or
d) an overly elaborate cry for help

His name's Jim and he lives just round the corner from me - that's why it was in the Sheffield Star. He is a bit of a nutter but he's the sort of person you just can't help liking. General Spin's right. He was making a video with some mates (you should see their last one ).
One of the things they seem to doing is setting themselves on fire and jumping off cliffs or bridges into water. I guess Jim was just trying it differently. They always wear a fireproof suit when they do it but as Boris said, his knife broke.
I don't think they've got around to selling their last video yet (I assume they plan to sell it to Channel 4 or something) but I could ask him when he gets back to Sheffield if anyone's interested.

count me in why not, if hes willing to do that im up for a vid