Liam Byrne, 18, jumped from 3,200ft above Peterlee Parachute Centre, in County Durham, on Saturday evening. His first parachute became twisted and he was ordered by radio to release his reserve. But the reserve became tangled in the main chute, resulting in him spiralling out of control towards the earth. Incredibly, Mr Byrne plunged into a tree where the branches helped to break his fall – narrowly missing a churchyard and a 5ft high spiked metal fence. He was left suspended 30ft above the ground until the emergency services arrived to free him. Afterwards, Mr Byrne, originally from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, said: “I was glad I didn’t hit the church or hit the fence below. “It was a bit scary. I just made sure I grabbed onto the tree so I was safe until someone came and found me.” Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 5.30pm. Mr Byrne was stuck in the tree for about 30 minutes.
