The parents of a freerunner are at his hospital bedside after he was severely injured plunging 30ft through the roof of a derelict warehouse.
Jordan White, 17, is believed to have been taking part in the extreme sport in which participants run and jump across buildings when he suffered head injuries and several broken bones.
Jordan, from Rowhedge, near Colchester, is being treated at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The student at Colchester Sixth Form College fell from the warehouse near his home on Friday.
His father Kevin Grant said his son’s friend came running to get him and he found Jordan lying on the ground.
He said: “It is a terrible thing to have happened and I am just trying to be here for everybody until I get the chance to express my feelings.” The night before firefighters were called to a blaze at the warehouses.
Mr Grant today questioned why the site was not made more secure. He said: “This is for another day but I don’t know why the developer has made no effort to make the site secure. I have been led to believe that people use it like an adventure playground.”
Jonathan Hills, managing director of Hills Building Group, which wants to develop the site, warned people not to enter the buildings. He said: “It is very difficult to stop people getting access because there is a footpath running through it and all around the side.”
Jim Howes, of the Flight Freerunning Association in Essex and Hertfordshire, said the sport is “not inherently dangerous” but he advised participants to avoid derelict warehouses. Essex police said officers are urging children and teenagers to stay away.
