DON’T FALL FOR TOMBSTONING CRAZE
Gordon shattered leg in accident at busy beauty spot
A DAD left crippled and jobless after a “tombstoning” accident has relived his ordeal – and warned youngsters to steer clear of the deadly craze.
Gordon Bayne, 34, shattered his leg in five places after jumping from a 30ft rock face at a beauty spot near Callander, Perthshire.
Gordon had followed youngsters who were jumping from the same spot at Bracklinn Falls.
But he landed on a rocky floor of the pool, resulting in the horror leg injuries and leading to a massive rescue operation to get him to hospital.
He is unable to walk and selfemployed roofer Gordon has not been able to work since the June 2 accident.
Gordon is now warning youngsters to think twice about tombstoning.
He said: “If you go tombstoning, your family could end up having to order a tombstone.”
Reliving the moment he diced with death, Gordon said: “I had been jumping from a 10ft spot then decided to go to the higher jump. I’d been going in head first but this time I kept my vertical position – which they call ‘tombstoning’ – and it saved my life.”
Gordon, from Larbert, Falkirk, returned to the surface in shock and had to wait more than two hours as the Killin Mountain Rescue Team battled tricky conditions to reach him.
Rescuers had to abseil down to reach him, then pull his stretcher to the top.
Gordon was rushed to the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, where he remained for three weeks as surgeons worked on his leg. He was visited by sons Aaron, 14, and Kieran, 10 – both of whom he wants to learn vital lessons from his experience.
He said: “I would hate to think of my sons or anyone else’s going through what I did, or potentially even worse.
“It will be at least three months before I can walk again and I will have to wait and see if I get the full function back.”
After the accident, Bill Rose, from Killin MRT, said: “It can be tempting to jump in to bodies of water during this weather but you never really know what’s lurking beneath the surface.”