tombstoning BrE

Tombstoning is a popular sport involving jumping from height into water.

"The reports of Tombstoning are worrying, itself it is very dangerous, but the current in that area can also be very strong.

Tombstoning is the practice of jumping from the tops of cliffs and other high points into the sea.

Tombstoning has killed at least 20 people and paralysed or seriously injured 60 in Britain in the last nine years.

He said the cliffs were also "on the move" at Arbroath, which meant the ground could give way while people were watching tombstoning.

The bridge is also popular for illegal "tombstoning" (bridge diving) and at least one death has been recorded.

The increasing number of injuries and deaths attributing to tombstoning have increased calls for responses from local authorities and emergency services.

The teenagers risked their lives by leaping 65ft into the sea as the summer heatwave sparks a new epidemic of deadly 'tombstoning'.

Spokeswoman Rachele Quayle said that tombstoning is "utterly irresponsible and giving the safe activity of coasteering a bad name".

Tombstoning has also broken out in Plymouth, Devon, where coastguards issued what is fast becoming an annual warning against the activity.

Mark Clark, from the MCA, said: "Coastguards have been using the term 'tombstoning' for a very long time.

The craze of tombstoning sees people jump into the sea from cliffs, sea walls and piers and has been linked with several fatalities over the years.

Tombstoning is the act of jumping in a straight vertical posture into the sea or other body of water from a high jumping platform, such as a cliff.

I've been alligator-chasing, tree climbing, zip-wiring, abseiling, caving with vampire bats, white-water rafting, off-roading, paragliding, subterranean tombstoning, horse riding and eating roast ants.

Thames Coastguard told BBC Essex they were called to reports of around 15 to 20 youths so-called "tombstoning" off Bell Wharf on Wednesday.

A safety advisory from the Government of the United Kingdom records that tombstoning has been taking place for "generations"; however, it is under increasing media and public scrutiny due to wider coverage of the risks involved.

He has previously published two novels with Penguin, Tombstoning (2006) and The Ossians (2008), which received praise from the likes of Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin and Christopher Brookmyre.

Conversely, Paul Snelling in the journal Public Health Ethics has argued that criticism of tombstoning has been in an overly moralistic approach, which "fails to take into account the enjoyment that various health effecting habits brings and the contribution that this makes to a good life."