Bradford teenager left with spinal injuries after tombstoning from beauty spot in Pembrokeshire

Sam, 16, who was holidaying in Abereiddy, Wales, with his family, had already successfully jumped off the towering plateau once, so decided to do it again.

But this time, instead of landing in the water, Sam hit the surface in what his mother described as a 'seated position' - experts later described his fall as being the equivalent of ‘smacking onto concrete, which resulted in a major rescue operation being carried out.

His mother, Lindsay Wilson said: “Because he’s such as strong swimmer, we initially thought Sam was waiting for the others to get out first" 

"But then we noticed that he’d turned pale and was holding onto the rocks.”

Fortunately the local coasteering company 'Celtic Quest Coasteering' were leading a team in the Blue Lagoon at the same time, and seeing that Sam was in difficulty, immediately went to his assistance.

READ MORE: Back to the drawing board for plan to stop people 'tombstoning' into river

They managed to get him onto his back and, using a paddleboard as a makeshift stretcher, they secured his neck and swam with him to the shore.

Fishguard Coastguards were called to attend and, once the public had been cleared from the site, the coastguard rescue helicopter airlifted him from the cliffs to a waiting ambulance.

He was transferred to Glangwili where a CT scan confirmed he had a spinal fracture.

Earlier this year, Councillor Anne Hawkesworth (Independent, Ilkley) addressed the issue of tombstoning, as youngsters took to Ilkley suspension bridge during the warm weather.

She said: "Anybody jumping off any bridge at the moment, is actually asking to possibly lose their life or at least break their legs.

 "It's a great worry to people that other people are going to hurt themselves.”

"The water level is not adequate or sufficient for people to be jumping in. They should not be jumping off any time, but at present and with water so low, it's incredibly dangerous."

People jumping from Ilkley suspension bridge earlier this summer

Meanwhile, a spokesman from National Water Safety has stressed the dangers of tombstoning.

“Whilst we recognise that tombstoning has been occurring around our coasts for generations, over recent years it has gained attention for all the wrong reasons. And sadly several people have been killed or seriously injured,” he said.

"Because the water’s depths alter with the tide, the water may often be shallower than the person thinks. 

“Our message is simple - don’t jump into the unknown,” concluded National Water Safety.