A father has urged people to ‘learn from his stupidity’ after puncturing BOTH LUNGS by backflipping 40 feet off a bridge to ‘try and relive his youth’.
Tom Scott, 40, decided to jump off a bridge near Garstang, Lancashire, on Friday August 15th after feeling a wave of nostalgia while passing the structure.
The dad-of-three, from Blackpool, visited the area in his younger years to leap from the bridge, which hangs over the River Wyre.
Acting in a moment of ‘stupidity’, Mr Scott performed a backflip off the side of the bridge, plummeting 40 feet into the river below.
Mr Scott said: ‘When I was a kid, I used to jump off that bridge and never had an issue. When we got there, I just thought I’m going to go to the bridge and jump off it.
‘It was just for nostalgia. I just wanted to do something I did when I was younger.
‘My girlfriend kept saying don’t do it, and I said I’ll be fine, I did it loads when I was younger.
‘When I was there, I stupidly decided I wasn’t going to jump off, I would backflip off. I’d done it a few times when I was younger but this time I overdid it.’
Tom Scott, 40, tried to do a backflip off a 40ft bridge
The dad-of-three’s horror fall was caught on video by his girlfriend
Shocking footage captures the moment he prepares to backflip off the side of the bridge before tumbling from full height, colliding with the water while flat on his back.
The personal trainer described the moment of impact as like ‘hitting concrete’, leaving him barely able to breathe when he surfaced from the water.
But he grew even more concerned when he began coughing up blood moments after emerging from the river.
He said: ‘It was like hitting concrete. I landed flat on my back. My back was really stinging.
‘I think maybe because of the weather, [the river] hasn’t been as deep as it normally would be,’ he said.
‘It was about a 30 to 40 foot drop. As soon as I landed in the water, I knew I’d hurt myself but I didn’t know how badly. I was winded.
‘I came up and went swimming to the shore. I could barely breathe. I saw there were kids about wanting to jump and straight away I said “don’t do it”.
‘As I was sat down, I coughed and a lot of thick blood came out my mouth. It felt like there was a snake wrapped around my chest.
Mr Scott, from Blackpool, was overcome by a wave of nostalgia before he made the leap
He described the moment of impact ‘like hitting concrete’
‘My girlfriend was terrified and went ‘I’m taking you to hospital right now’.’
Mr Scott rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital where he dipped in and out of consciousness while medics examined his injuries before confirming he had punctured both lungs and suffered extensive bruising.
He believes his moment of recklessness could’ve left him paralysed or even dead— and is now warning others to avoid similar stunts.
The dad had punctured and bruised both his lungs and suffered extensive bruising across his back.
He said: ‘They were quite shocked that I hadn’t broken anything.
‘I could’ve been crippled or even dead.
‘It was a bit of stupidity and I own that. I massively regret it. I feel massively ashamed, stupid and embarrassed.
‘I shouldn’t be doing that at my age, but I wouldn’t advise anyone to do it.
‘Think about what could be before you do it, because it could happen. What can happen to me can happen to anyone. I’d advise to anyone not to do it.
‘I could’ve easily died. Just learn from my stupidity.’
