A 73-YEAR-OLD daredevil has rolled back the years by setting a new bungee jumping record.

Former cabbie Ray Woodcock set a new British – and potential world record – for the highest jump with a full body submersion into water with a leap from 465ft.  

The pensioner's death-defying leap took place at Chepstow's National Diving and Activity Centre and smashed his own previous world record of 380ft.

Using a special 500ft crane, the old quarry's deep water made the world record attempt possible.

A still-dripping Ray said: "The jump was absolutely incredible. A little bit harder than I thought it would be – the height was unbelievable, I looked at it from the ground and thought 'wow no-one's going to jump off that.'

"As I was going up in the crane, everything looks totally different.  When you're standing next to that open doorway and you've got someone bigger than you ready to shove you out, you have to just go with it.

"When I was falling, I was saying in my mind 'please let it be a world record'.

"I started in a very bad spin, so the impact with the water was pretty hard. It was quite a jolt and I was completely submerged.

"But I knew the second I hit the water that there was no problem, I'd soon be shooting 300ft into the air and flying!"

Ray, a taxi driver for more than 30 years, performed the jump to raise money for The Southend Taxi Drivers Charity for Children which takes sick and disabled children on an annual outing. 

With his children and grandchildren based in Essex, the jump was streamed live to his family over 4G using mobile phone network EE's new 4GEE Action Cam strapped to his chest.

Ray said: "Today was very special because my family could watch, could feel, could see what I was doing – EE's new technology is amazing.

"When I was standing on the edge, with nothing between me and nearly 500ft - for the kids to have seen that at home must have blown their minds. 

"My son asked 'how the hell did you survive that?' and I said 'I've got plenty more living to do kid, don't worry about that.'

Watching from home, son Marc Woodcock, 37, said: "I'm extremely happy that he's safe, the 465ft drop looked ridiculously high, I couldn't even comprehend doing something like that.

"My heart was in my mouth, my stomach turned, it was terrifying for me, let alone for him."

All necessary health and safety measures were taken and Ray completed a full medical assessment prior to the jump. 

A team of safety boats and divers remained on alert in case of an accident, but they were thankfully not required. Ray is no stranger to risk, having previously climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, trekked through Death Valley and driven a group of huskies 250km across the Arctic. 

Jon Snape, head of the UK Bungee Club, said: "Ray contacted me 18 months ago, he said he was doing a fundraiser and wanted to break the record for the highest jump into water.

"I just thought he was nuts at first – you have a 73-year-old gentleman jumping 465ft, six metres from a sheer cliff face – but he was insistent. He's an incredibly brave and inspiring person."

Ray's jump was filmed using EE's new 4GEE Action Cam, the world's first action camera that live streams over 4G. On sale in store today at http://www.action">www.action

cam.ee.co.uk

Ray's incredible leap is currently being reviewed by Guinness World Records.