Scientists and stunt fans held their breath as 3 year old Darryl Parkin completed a historic descent from a kitchen chair yesterday, in the front garden of his home in Northampton. "It was a personal record for me with considerable benefits including an enhanced understanding of how gravitational force can interact with the human body in a context which is not entirely risk-free" Parkin told a news conference before bursting into tears and demanding his sucky towel.
Fiona Parkin, Darryl's mother, who witnessed the 0.33963321 metre descent confessed her heart was in her mouth as her son left the descent platform just after UK lunch time. Scientists were unable to calibrate the acceleration indices of the fall, due to its short duration. But Mr Parkin referred to it as a personal and possible global best.
Darryl's sponsor, Grandpa Parkin of Upminster, who watched the complete descent on Skype, raised a glass of an official energy drink and declared young Darryl a "national hero". Now Team Parkin are preparing an even more audacious descent, this time from the top of the coal bunker, to highlight planet earth's ongoing dependence on fossil fuels. With an altitude increase of 23.9759% the new challenge comes with its own set of dangers. However Darryl will wear a specially cleaned plastic potty on his head as a safety precaution.
Darryl sees the new jump as a tribute to his space hero Buzz Lightyear. Mr Lightyear was unavailable to say "to infinity and beyond" because of what a spokestoy referred to as "battery issues".