Eddie The Eagle Edwards, one of Britain’s most famous Olympians, tested his daredevil mettle with a six storey-high freefall onto a giant airbag at the Eden Project.

Ski jumper Eddie was strapped into a harness and winched up to nearly 20m high, before being dropped, back-first, on to an enormous inflated air bag. This custom-made cushioned landing is similar to those used by ski jumpers in training.

The experience, known as Freefall, is one of a number of activities operated by Hangloose Adventure at the Eden Project.

Eddie said: ’It is scary because you’re going down backwards and you can’t see a thing.

’You don’t know when the impact is going to happen but you know it’s going to happen.

’It’s scarier than ski jumping because you’re going backwards - at least when I’m ski jumping I’m going forwards! It’s good fun, I enjoyed it.’

Eddie also opened another new Hangloose ride, a stand-up 360 degree swing that flips riders upside down, known as Vertigo 360.