Rugby player paralysed for life after 'tombstoning' stunt goes wrong

A keen rugby player faces being paralysed for life after he pretended to be Baywatch star David Hasselhoff during a drink-fuelled beach game.

Darren Fletcher, 25, broke his neck when he sprinted down to the water's edge and dived dramatically into the sea, not realising how shallow it was.

His friends had been 'tombstoning' off a harbour wall just feet away.

While they pretended to be drowning, his intention was to rescue them like the lifeguard from the U.S. TV series.

Instead, the friends pulled Mr Fletcher back on to the beach before raising the alarm.

He was airlifted from the beach in Hughtown on the Isles of Scilly and transferred to hospital on the mainland.

There doctors who examined him and carried out scans told Mr Fletcher, from Sheffield, that he would never walk again.

Yesterday, his family were at his bedside in Plymouth's Derriford Hospital.

The electrician and talented amateur rugby player is expected to be transferred to the city's Northern General Hospital, which has a spinal injuries unit, later this week.

PC Tony Kan of the Isles of Scilly police said: "The injury was caused by him running down the beach and diving into very shallow water.

"His friends were jumping into the water off the quay close by to him and he was involved in this activity earlier on.

"This is a terrible tragedy for this young man and his family and friends.

"Medical practitioners have concluded he will not walk again.

"The police and our partners in coastal safety can only repeat our advice that this kind of activity often leads to tragic consequences."

The accident happened after dark at 10pm on Friday.

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Mr Fletcher and his group had been drinking at the funeral wake for a friend who had died in a car accident.

A police spokesman said Mr Fletcher had 'a fair amount to drink' during the wake at the Mermaid Inn.

The group of friends had been watching people jumping around 15ft from the harbour wall into the sea and later tried it for themselves.

"From the pub you can see local people jumping off the quay into the sea and this man was obviously tempted," said the spokesman.

A witness said: "He and his friends were jumping about in the water. Darren ran down to the beach and did a dive off the sand.

"He was pretending to be David Hasselhoff in Baywatch. He thought the water was a bit deeper than it was."

The tombstoning craze involves thrillseekers jumping off cliffs, rocks, harbour walls or other structures into water.

Police yesterday re-issued warnings about the dangers of reckless behaviour in the sea.

Earlier this month, 16-year-old Sam Boyd died when he leapt into Minehead harbour in Somerset.

In July, two men died after leaping from the pier at Clactonon-Sea in Essex, and in June father-of-six Delwyn Jones, 46, from Merthyr Tydfil, died when he jumped 30ft at low tide in Torbay, Devon.