Base jumper sneaks on to the top of skyscrapers on the Isle of Dogs before making audacious leaps back to earth

Dan Witchalls prepares to leap off the top of a skyscraper

The UK’s leading base jumper has released a new film of himself leaping off buildings on the Isle of Dogs.

Dan Witchalls, who rose to prominence after leaping off The Shard four times, was videoed making the latest jumps for a new online documentary.

The father-of-two told the Standard the film involved three jumps on a single night ranging from 390 feet to just 170 feet and took place three weeks ago.

The buildings were a residential block under construction, another construction site which is to be a hotel, and a council block.

He glides safely to the ground after his audacious stunt

Each had security guards but he managed to avoid being spotted, he said.

“I’m quite resourceful - I’m quite experienced in doing this sort of thing.

“It’s trespass, but only if you get caught.”

Witchalls is famed for evading security to jump from London landmarks, and was featured in a Channel Four documentary about his thrillseeking exploits.

The roofer from Bishop’s Stortford is a world champion in the extreme sport, whose acronym stands for “building, antenna, span and earth”.

The documentary in two parts, was uploaded on January 2 under the title “London’s illegal BASE jumper”.

He made three jumps safely on a single night

In the programme, filmed by friend Alan Quinn, Witchalls, believed to be 49, says: “It fulfils my need for excitement...It has to be dangerous otherwise it is not worth doing.

“Every time you jump you are risking your life - there are no half measures.”

He adds: “It is the only sport in the world where you can do everything right and still die.”

His parents and wife Tea, a skydiving enthusiast, are keen for him to retire, following the deaths of a number of base-jumping colleagues.

Witchalls says: “It is definitely time for me to give up, I know that. But I can’t.”

Base jumping was made popular in 1978 by film-maker Carl Boenish, who filmed jumps from El Capitan cliff face in Yosemite National park and coined the term for the extreme sport — which killed him six years later.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT