Gary Connery: stuntman in amazing 2400ft skydive without parachute

He has completed 900 skydives, 450 base jumps and starred as a stunt double in films including Indiana Jones, Batman and Harry Potter. But on Wednesday Gary Connery, 42, completed his most audacious feat yet when he became the first person in history to jump out of a helicopter without a parachute from half a mile up in the air and land on a huge pile of cardboard boxes.

Wearing a winged “bird suit” to slow his descent, Mr Connery still reached speeds of 80 mph and was seen being buffeted by turbulence during the minute long flight. But just seconds before he hit the ground, he used the wings on his suit to slow himself down and guide himself safely onto the 12 ft high and 300 feet long “landing strip” of empty boxes. There was still a heart stopping 30 seconds as he disappeared into the crumpled heap of cardboard before he re-emerged jubilant from death defying feat, much to the delight of his nervous wife Vivian.