Three men associated with a thrill-seeking group jumped from the 380ft viewing deck of Blackpool Tower to film a stunt for social media. The individuals bypassed security by posing as tourists and using a specialized tool to unlock a window before leaping over active tram lines.
A 380ft drop over the Comedy Carpet
The stunt involved three men leaping from the observation deck of the 518ft-tall Blackpool Tower, which sits approximately 380ft above the ground. According to the Daily Mail, two of the jumpers landed on the Comedy Carpet artwork on the Blackpool Promenade, while a third man, who was not wearing a helmet, misjudged his trajectory and landed on the roof of a former Woolworths building.
Blackpool Tourism, the operator of the landmark, condemned the act as "extremely dangerous," noting that the jumpers sailed directly over powered tram lines. The organization emphasized that the stunt occurred in full view of bystanders, including several schoolchildren and families with young children, creating a high risk of catastrophic injury to the public.
The specialist tool and the 'window inspector' ruse
To gain access to the viewing platform, the trio reportedly posed as paying visitors before claiming to be "window inspectors" during the act. The Daily Mail reports that the men used a specialist tool, purchased online , to discreetly unlock a window after several failed attempts to open others. The group used GoPro-style cameras to capture the jump from multiple angles for social media engagement.
The individuals involved have been identified as 41-year-old web developer Louis Harwood, 37-year-old plumber Matt Oldham, and 28-year-old Cambridge student Theo Featherstone.. While the group's social media posts suggested the windwos were opened with ease, Blackpool Tourism clarified that all windows at the top of the tower are securely locked and required the external tool to be breached.
From the Humber Bridge to Trinity Heights
This incident is part of a broader pattern of high-risk stunts by the group known as "Let's Make Stupid Decisions" (LMSD). as reported by the source, the group previously made headlines in March after two unidentified men climbed the ropes of the Humber Bridge before leaping. They have also targeted other high-profile structures, including a jump from Manchester's 600ft Trinity Heights tower in January of last year while the building was still under construction.
The group's history includes a jump from the Clifton Suspension Bridge, a site where multiple fatalities have occurred in recent years. this trajectory suggests a deliberate escalation in the scale and danger of their stunts, driven by the pursuit of online "likes" and social media visibility, often while taunting the security measures of the sites they infiltrate.
Lancashire Police and the legality of the 'tourist' pose
Lancashire Police are currently investigating whether the three men broke the law by posing as tourists to gain access to the tower's restricted areas. a key point of the investigation is whether the deception used to enter the viewing deck constitutes a criminal offense or a breach of local bylaws, similar to the prosecutions seen following the Humber Bridge incident.
Several questions remain unanswered, as the three men—Harwood , Oldham, and Featherstone—did not respond to requests for comment. it remains unclear if the "specialist tool" used to unlock the window caused permanent damage to the Blackpool Tower infrastructure, despite the group's claims that they did not cause damage.. Furthermore, the report relies heavily on the tower's operators and social media footage, leaving the jumpers' specific legal defense unknown.
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