A skydiver who was knocked unconscious during a jump survived a terrifying 10,000ft plunge after falling without an open parachute — and says she “cannot wait” to get back in the air.

Holly Wiffen, 35, an experienced parachutist, said she knows how fortunate she is to be alive after another jumper accidentally kicked her in the head, leaving her unconscious mid-air.

As she hurtled toward the ground at speed, a conifer tree broke her fall, helping save her life before she was found and rushed to hospital in Nottingham.

Ms Wiffen, who has completed 425 jumps, is now recovering at home after suffering a badly broken left leg and a fractured spine in the August 7 accident.

GoPro footage captured the dramatic moment she dropped into freefall before surviving what she has described as an extraordinarily lucky escape.

She can be seen with around eight other passengers leaping from a plane into a clear blue sky using a technique known as ‘tracking’, which involves building up speed through falling horizontally.

The group of jumpers disperse as they descend, but one of them collides with Ms Wiffen just as she is moving into position, sending a piece of debris flying and leaving her unconscious.

The parachutist immediately plummets to earth from her spot at around 12,000ft following the crash which took place at 100mph, The Sun reports.

Ms Wiffen then falls to earth at 150mph with other skydivers appearing to notice her accident and attempt to follow her down and grab hold of her.

One tries and fails to grasp her with his hand and is forced to unfurl his own parachute just 3,000ft above ground. 

The unconscious jumper then disappears out of shot, at which point some of her colleagues thought she was going to die, she said. 

At some point – probably at around 1,000ft according to Ms Wiffen – she pulled her ripcord, even though she has no memory of her freefall.

This released an emergency chute, but just seconds later a secondary chute was deployed because it registered that she was travelling too fast and at too low an altitude. 

The combination of the two chutes served to create a ‘downplane’ effect, increasing her speed to around 40 to 50mph at the crucial moment.

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But in a miraculous turn of events, Ms Wiffen crashes into a conifer tree positioned in the middle of vast swathes of open fields.

This greatly softened her landing, likely saving her life when a collision with open road or a power line might have proved fatal.

The dental therapist ended up landing hundreds of feet away from the field at which she was supposed to arrive.

She might have suffered a near-death experience, but Ms Wiffen is already planning her next skydive.

‘If I hadn’t hit the tree I would have hit the ground and would have been soup. Most people don’t survive skydiving accidents like that.

‘I want to get back to skydiving as soon as I can.

‘Although, knowing what happened and that I could have died also makes me a little nervous.’ 

Ms Wiffen added that she does not remember her fall, but that she felt like she was dreaming about skydiving during that time.

When she finally came to, the parachutist was lying on the ground with her leg pointing in the wrong direction. 

Her reserve chute was stuck in the conifer tree and she had to wait for her fellow jumpers to scramble through thickets of brambles to find her. 

She was placed on a stretcher and rushed to hospital, where she was operated on six days later.

Ms Wiffen is currently recovering at her parents’ farm after being discharged from hospital.

The enthusiastic skydiver also rides a motorbike and does rock climbing so it is little surprise the thrill-seeker wants to get back to jumping out of planes. 

Skydiving expert Allan Hewitt said the accident would be investigated, adding that collisions such as this were rare. 

A registered sex offender who was allowed to enrol in an honours program at the University of Melbourne is now facing a fresh series of serious criminal allegations, among them rape and procuring sex by deception.

Anthony Brooks, 33, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he applied to have his bail conditions changed so he could spend two months living in New South Wales while receiving mental health treatment.

The bid came as the court was told Brooks had been hit with further charges, following a Daily Mail report in June that revealed he had been accused of offences linked to child abuse material allegedly involving “very young children”.

Police allege Brooks had child abuse material in his possession at a Docklands property on multiple occasions in July and December 2024.

He is further accused of sending child abuse material to a known associate in May 2024, as well as allegedly transmitting similar material several more times in July.

Brooks also allegedly stalked a person at Docklands between February 2023 and June 2024.

Police allege Brooks created multiple fictitious personas to contact and harass the victim, coercing them into an unwanted sexual relationship. This conduct allegedly included threats of self-harm.

Brooks is accused of intending to cause physical or mental harm and of arousing fear for the victim’s safety or that of others.

He is further charged with using a carriage service to menace, and allegedly breached his reporting conditions as a registered offender by opening a Gmail account in 2023 without notifying police.

Brooks was charged in November last year and placed on police bail, which he has allegedly already breached.

The court heard Brooks allegedly contacted the complainant on September 20, 2024, with threatening messages, including one that read: ‘By now you can probably realise I can become anyone and be on anything, I’ve been Andrew, Anthony, Bradley.’

An amended hand-up brief was submitted in August, containing a significant number of new charges against Brooks, including rape and procuring sex by fraud, relating to the same complainant.

At Monday’s hearing, Brooks applied to vary his bail so he could move to Basin View in the NSW Jervis Bay area for two months between December and January, citing a desire to reconnect with friends and family and seek mental health care.

The court also heard Brooks has a non-conviction prior for sexual offending against a 15-year-old boy in Sydney, but did not become a registered sex offender until he moved to Melbourne in 2022.

A detective from the Proactive Targeting Team, Leading Senior Constable Luke Ilott, told the court that police were concerned they would not be able to monitor or enforce bail conditions if Brooks moved to NSW.

The detective also expressed concerns that Brooks could commit further offences, noting he had already been charged with three counts of allegedly breaching bail by accessing the internet, including social media and the gay dating app Grindr.

The alleged breaches occurred on June 12, just one week before Brooks appeared in court on June 19.

Brooks is also accused of using multiple devices to communicate with the complainant in the current matter.

Police further alleged Brooks may have committed similar offences against other complainants online.

‘The accused has outstanding matters with other informants investigating him,’ the detective told the court.

‘He was interviewed recently, in August, by Melbourne SOCIT [Sexual Offending and Child Abuse Investigation Team] regarding two different complainants and sets of circumstances.’

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The court was told the ongoing investigations into Brooks are of a similar nature, ‘involving online sexual acts by fraud… one of which [involves] using personas again,’ the detective said.

The court heard police questioned Brooks after a complainant came forward with allegations against him.

Police said there are currently four ongoing investigations into Brooks’ alleged activities.

‘There’s an outstanding unit, or informant, investigating what this complainant brought forward, which is of a similar nature to online offending,’ the detective said.

‘[Brooks was questioned] but not charged; that aspect of the investigation, child abuse material and contact with that person, is outstanding.’

Police said they seized multiple phones from Brooks on August 20, which are now being examined for child abuse material.

The court was told Brooks is an ‘educated man’ and an admitted lawyer, currently studying history at the University of Melbourne as an honours student.

Brooks was forced to move from student accommodation into an Elwood rental in Melbourne’s south after the Daily Mail revealed the sex crime allegations.

During his academic career, Brooks gained entry to and completed an arts degree at the University of Melbourne.

He was named to the Dean’s Honours List in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Brooks also received the university’s 2026 Neville Bonner Memorial Scholarship and, as of March this year, was identified as a ‘current history honours student’.

On April 29 this year, about a month after the University of Melbourne scholarship was reported, Brooks was again charged with transmitting child abuse material.

It is understood Brooks arrived in Melbourne around the time his interstate conditional release order expired in February 2023.

That same month, Brooks, who was living in Docklands, was suspected of beginning his alleged stalking campaign and commenced his studies at the University of Melbourne.

In June, the Daily Mail submitted a series of questions to the university, including whether it was aware Brooks was a registered offender. The university declined to answer.

We also asked what protocols the university has to monitor sex offenders and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff and students; again, the university did not respond.

Another question left unanswered was whether Brooks would have been permitted to enrol in the bachelor’s program had the university known he was a sex offender.

‘We have legally binding confidentiality and privacy obligations that prevent us from confirming any details relating to past or present University staff, students, prospective students or other individuals,’ a University of Melbourne spokesperson said in a statement at the time.

The university also provided a general response, describing the safety and wellbeing of its students and staff as ‘paramount’.

‘Any experience of assault, sexual assault and sexual harassment within our university community is unacceptable,’ the spokesperson said.

‘We remain steadfast in upholding our commitments to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct and gender-based violence within our University community, and have robust systems and supports in place for our students and staff.

‘Any student with concerns about their safety at university should contact our Safer Community Program.’

When Jamie and Eda Pierce snapped up what looked like their perfect rural retreat, the deal must have felt almost unbelievable.

The pristine five-bedroom manor-style home sits within seven acres of mature gardens and grounds, with a swimming pool, tennis court, paddocks, stables and even a private helipad among its standout features.

The couple, both company directors, completed the purchase for £3.15million — a reduced price that suggested they had landed an enviable country-house bargain.

Former owners Paul and Elizabeth Nott had originally listed the property for £3,395,000, but the Pierces succeeded in negotiating £245,000 off the asking price.

But three years after that happy day in August 2022 — almost exactly to the day — their dream of a quiet, idyllic life at the secluded home in Pootings, a hamlet near Crockham Hill in Kent, was destroyed overnight in devastating fashion.

At 5.05pm on Friday, August 22 last year – just minutes after the local council shut up shop for the bank holiday weekend – a group of travellers stormed in and set up an illegal camp just yards from the couple’s front door.

In a now familiar tactic, which locals say was planned with military precision, the travellers arrived with trucks and excavators along with their caravans and mobile homes.

Ancient hedgerows were hacked down to make way for a new entrance and driveway, and within hours tarmac had been laid on what had been an empty field opposite the couple’s home, on the other side of a narrow country lane.

Overnight, electricity cables and water pipes were installed and buried, while septic tanks, a sewage treatment infrastructure, waste pipes and fencing were put in place on the six-acre site on Green Belt land, which quickly became home to four families including 16 children.

The ‘battleground’ is just a ten-minute drive from Chartwell – the beloved family home of Sir Winston Churchill from 1922 until his death in 1965.

Now, perhaps showing some Churchillian resolve of their own, Jamie, 50, and Eda, 51, have decided enough is enough and have launched a multi-million-pound legal battle following the invasion.

But it’s not the travellers that they have set their sights on.

Instead, they have issued proceedings against Paul and Elizabeth Nott – claiming they have been the victims of a wicked deception at the hands of the former owners.

Jamie – who until recently was the deputy chief executive of one of the UK’s leading construction businesses that specialise in healthcare – and his wife have accused the Notts of ‘fraudulent misrepresentation and deceit’ over the sale of the property.

They claim the vendors knew all along that travellers were plotting to set up home on the site, but deliberately hid this from them so they could escape the upcoming mayhem and cash in on the sale of their home.

The Pierces allege that before buying their new home they had specifically enquired as to whether the Notts were aware of ‘any plans to alter, develop or change the use of any neighbouring land within a quarter of a mile’ of the property.

They claim the Notts’ solicitor told their lawyer: ‘Not to our clients’ knowledge’.

The couple say the declaration was false – and the Notts knew it.

They now appear to have turned detectives and have uncovered a series of emails which allegedly reveal that Paul Nott played a key role in an unsuccessful campaign to try to head off the threat of travellers buying the land – dating back to the summer of 2021.

He and another local resident had even tried to buy the plot of land themselves after it was put up for sale.

Issuing a writ at the High Court, the Pierces insist they would never have bought the property if they had been told the truth.

They now claim their home, which has been turned into a fortress – bristling with security cameras along with high wooden gates and warning signs – is worthless.

The couple want their contract of sale ripped up and want to be put back into the position they would have been in had they not bought the house.

They are seeking the return of the £3.15million, along with all sums they have spent on the house as well as damages for deceit, interest and expenses including legal fees and stamp duty.

The Notts – who now live in a £1.5million six-bedroom modern home around five miles away – have yet to file a response to the writ.

Legal documents obtained by the Daily Mail reveal how a neighbour of the Notts first raised concerns in 2021 about the sale of the agricultural plot known as Seasons Farm, which is surrounded on three sides by land owned by the National Trust.

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In an email to other locals, the neighbour wrote: ‘Just a heads-up, as we live opposite the gate to Seasons Farm, we can see that there are viewings of the land going on several times a day now, some with the estate agent but most without.

‘Worryingly, most of the viewers look quite suspicious, especially those without the estate agent in attendance.’

The documents state that in September 2021, Mr Nott and another member of the local community offered to buy the farm from the then owner ‘to protect the plot from unwanted development’.

Their offer was rejected and the land was sold in October 2021 to Patrick Delaney, who is said to have connections with the traveller community.

He allegedly refused to provide assurances that the land would not be used for traveller homes, and locals insisted he had previously been involved in the development of agricultural land for the use of travelling communities.

Local meetings were held and Mr Nott is said to have been at the head of an email chain sent by one resident calling for a residents’ group to be set up to ‘deal with planning, the politicians and Patrick Delaney’.

Mr Nott allegedly replied: ‘This is a concerning situation, forming a residents association would be the best way forward so please count me in.’

He also received an email from local planners saying Mr Delaney planned to submit an application for development and was included in a further group message to local MP Laura Trott.

Mr Nott was said to be a founder member of the Pootings Residents’ Association, which was set up to fight the development and that he and his wife attended the group’s formation meeting in February 2022.

Shortly afterwards, approaches were made to a leading barrister who specialises in planning issues to ‘advise and act’ in a bid ‘to defeat the development proposals’.

At the same time, in the spring of 2022, the couple put their home up for sale, the writ claims.

Setting out the Pierces’ claim, their barrister, Jonathan Seitler KC, wrote: ‘Had the defendants not made the false representation and had instead confirmed that the owner of Seasons Farm was likely to have and to make development proposals, the claimants would not have purchased the property.

‘They had no intention of purchasing property which was adjacent to land used by the travellers’ community.’

Mr Delaney went on to put in the first of four unsuccessful bids to change the use of Seasons Farm from agricultural to residential just months after the couple moved into their new home.

In July 2025, he sold the land to the four traveller families – who went on to transform the site into a caravan park within 48 hours after their ‘cynical’ bank holiday raid.

Horrified residents told how, on the day they descended on the site, large convoys of vehicles continued to arrive through the night as frantic construction work was accompanied by ‘flashing lights and loud hailers’.

One local complained the invasion created ‘wholly unacceptable levels of noise and disturbance, leaving nearby residents feeling intimidated, distressed, and powerless to intervene’.

They added: ‘Any attempts to challenge the activity were met with intimidation.’

By the time a High Court injunction was served on the Sunday morning, the majority of the works had been completed and the families, including 16 children, were quickly installed in their new homes.

Locals say the travellers’ arrival in Pootings – which had been home to 60 residents living in 27 properties – increased the number of dwellings by 44 per cent and the number of people living there by 38 per cent overnight.

A series of legal actions followed while members of the group were found in May this year to be in contempt of court for defying court orders and continuing work on the site.

The same month, a retrospective planning application by the travellers for permission to develop the site was rejected by Sevenoaks District Council.

One local who objected to the development said: ‘Granting planning permission of any kind would be tantamount to endorsement of loutish, anti-social behaviour.

‘If this applicant “gets away” with retrospective permission, why can’t we all behave like that to get what we want?’

Residents insist their lives continue to be blighted by the camp, saying they have suffered ‘significant harm’.

Locals say they have been plagued by ‘persistent noise from machinery and quad bikes, often at unsociable hours’, while complaining of powerful ‘intrusive’ floodlighting at the site that ‘is never turned off at night’.

It’s all a far cry from the quiet and peaceful sanctuary that Jamie and Eda Pierce sought when they bought their new home.

The Notts declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail last week.