A stuntman, Gary Connery, has become the first man to leap 2400 feet and safely land without using a 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.