A father is cautioning others to ‘learn from his mistake’ after he injured both lungs while backflipping 40 feet off a bridge in an attempt to ‘revisit his youth’.

Tom Scott, 40, decided to leap from a bridge near Garstang, Lancashire, on Friday, August 15th, feeling nostalgic as he passed by the familiar spot.

The dad-of-three, from Blackpool, visited the area in his younger years to leap from the bridge, which hangs over the River Wyre.

Acting in a moment of ‘stupidity’, Mr Scott performed a backflip off the side of the bridge, plummeting 40 feet into the river below.

Mr. Scott explained: ‘As a kid, I often jumped off that bridge without any problems. When we arrived, I just thought I’d head to the bridge and take a leap off it.

‘It was just for nostalgia. I just wanted to do something I did when I was younger.

‘My girlfriend kept saying don’t do it, and I said I’ll be fine, I did it loads when I was younger.

‘Once there, I foolishly opted not just to jump, but to backflip off. I had done it a few times when I was younger, but this time I went too far.’

Startling footage shows him preparing to backflip from the side of the bridge, then falling from the full height and landing flat on his back in the water.

The personal trainer described the moment of impact as like ‘hitting concrete’, leaving him barely able to breathe when he surfaced from the water.

But he grew even more concerned when he began coughing up blood moments after emerging from the river.

He said: ‘It was like hitting concrete. I landed flat on my back. My back was really stinging.

‘I think maybe because of the weather, [the river] hasn’t been as deep as it normally would be,’ he said.

‘It was about a 30 to 40 foot drop. As soon as I landed in the water, I knew I’d hurt myself but I didn’t know how badly. I was winded.

‘I surfaced and started swimming to shore, barely able to breathe. Seeing kids around wanting to jump, I immediately warned them, saying, “don’t do it”.’

‘As I was sat down, I coughed and a lot of thick blood came out my mouth. It felt like there was a snake wrapped around my chest.

 ‘My girlfriend was terrified and went ‘I’m taking you to hospital right now’.’

Mr Scott rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital where he dipped in and out of consciousness while medics examined his injuries before confirming he had punctured both lungs and suffered extensive bruising.

He believes his moment of recklessness could’ve left him paralysed or even dead— and is now warning others to avoid similar stunts.

The dad had punctured and bruised both his lungs and suffered extensive bruising across his back.

He said: ‘They were quite shocked that I hadn’t broken anything.

‘I could’ve been crippled or even dead.

‘It was a bit of stupidity and I own that. I massively regret it. I feel massively ashamed, stupid and embarrassed.

‘I shouldn’t be doing that at my age, but I wouldn’t advise anyone to do it.

‘Think about what could be before you do it, because it could happen. What can happen to me can happen to anyone. I’d advise to anyone not to do it.

‘I could’ve easily died. Just learn from my stupidity.’