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Bridge bungee jump first for Gazette reporter

A journalist from the Evening Gazette on Teesside has taken part in the first ever bungee jump event from a UK bridge.

Reporter Will Sutton braved heights of 180ft to dive head-first off of Middlesbrough's famous Transporter Bridge, as part of a test which will pave the way for a major fundraising event in the area later this year.

He followed veteran 'jumper' Jon Snape - who has completed 800 bungee jumps - to become only the second person to do a legal bungee jump from a bridge in the UK.

  • Will gets ready for the jump
  • He told HoldtheFrontPage: "It was a brilliant experience but absolutely terrifying."

    Will, (25), had originally planned to just report on the test by the UK Bungee Club, ahead of a fundraiser for the Brian Clough Memorial Fund where he and around 100 other volunteers will bungee jump from the bridge.

    But his news editor thought the test "would make a great first-person piece" and suggested that Will take part too.

  • Over the edge
  • Will, who has previously completed a skydive and bungee jump in Australia, said: "I thought I had two or three months to psyche myself up.

    "I had to walk up these zig-zag stairs and it got worse as I got higher. My palms were sweating.

    "I am nervous of heights but I am still psychotic enough to throw myself off.

    "I knew it would be a fantastic experience jumping out across the water."

    He added: "It really was incredible. I could see Teesside bouncing upside down and then I was sat in a boat grinning like an idiot with a head that felt like the blood was pumping straight into my eyes."

  • The Brian Clough Memorial Fund was set up 18 months ago to raise money for a statue of the former Middlesbrough striker, and Will has been reporting on its progress ever since. He will complete a second jump off the bridge on August 13, when he will be joined by around 100 fellow fundraisers.

  • "Can somebody get me down?"

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