A FORMER paratrooper has been taken to hospital as a precaution after he jumped without a parachute from a helicopter into the sea during a world record attempt.

John Bream, who is nicknamed the Flying Fish, was thought to have leapt from about 40 meters above the water but was then seen to land awkwardly in the Solent.

The 34-year-old daredevil, from Hampshire, the U.K., was said to have hit his head on entry and was briefly unconscious when divers reached him off Hayling Island, near Portsmouth.

But he was then seen waving from a boat and later walking and chatting with paramedics as he was checked over before being taken to hospital.

Bream was raising funds and awareness for All Call Signs and Support Our Paras, two charities which provide mental health support for veterans.

He is believed to have fallen for about three or four seconds before hitting the Solent waters at about 50 kmph.

He was aiming to set a record for the highest freefall into water from an aircraft. But his attempt has not yet been verified by the Guinness World Records.

The current world record for the highest jump into water is 58 meters.

That feat was achieved by Brazilian-Swiss extreme athlete Laso Schaller during a leap from a cliff at Cascata del Salto, Switzerland, in 2015.

(SD-Agencies)