Security fears have been raised around Twickenham stadium after stuntmen were able to creep in and film a video of them parachuting from the roof to the pitch days before England were due to play Wales in the Rugby World Cup.
Jamie Flynn and Darren Strafford leapt from the 160ft-high roof surrounding the 80,000-seat stadium in south-west London, after they and cameraman Mauricio Gris wore outfits similar to site security to sneak past guards unchallenged, the Mirror reports.
They were even able to take pictures of themselves after landing in the middle of the pitch. One private security expert said it was shocking that the men were able to infiltrate the stadium so easily.
Flynn said: “The parachutes make quite a loud bang when they open in an empty stadium so we were waiting for security to come for us at any time. We thought we would take a few selfies on the pitch before they got us but they never came.”
Video shot by the men shows them dressed in hi-vis vests and red sweaters, chosen to imitate security, as they scaled an outside wall of the stadium and made their way up to the roof above the stands.
Flynn jumped first, followed by Strafford, with their four-second descent captured in shaky footage taken by helmet-mounted cameras. Both men landed safely and, elated from the adrenaline rush, gave each other a high-five. Gris was left at the top of the stadium and had to climb down.
They said that despite the jump, which was three years in the planning, all were able to simply make their way out of the stadium unchallenged and return to their car.
The video was shot on Tuesday, the Mirror reports, in the midst of the Rugby World Cup. George McKillop, chief executive of Haymarket Risk, a London-based security consultant, said it was worrying that base jumpers were able to get into Twickenham at a time of “huge” terror threat.
“The eyes of the world are on Twickenham. If anything was to happen there it would give the terrorists exactly what they want – massive worldwide publicity,” he said. “It is shocking that these guys were able to gain easy access and remain unchallenged for as long as they did.”
A spokesperson for the Rugby Football Union, which owns Twickenham stadium, said: “It is very disappointing that these individuals chose to breach security at Twickenham at such an important time with a Rugby World Cup game taking place this weekend.
“Whilst the security in the lead-up to and after a match day is extremely robust, we accept that this should not have happened mid-week. The RFU is currently undertaking a full investigation to establish the facts to ensure that non match day security arrangements are appropriate going forwards.”
