A BOLTON landlord has proved he’s got a head for heights after taking part in a world record breaking formation skydive.

Few regulars at the Bob's Smithy Inn, Chorley Old Road, have any idea that landlord, Stewart Brookes, spends his weekends hurling himself out of planes.

But the 67-year-old is as used to pulling ripcords as he is pulling pints – having racked up more than 3,700 jumps since getting into the sport in 1977.

“I don’t tend to bring it up unless someone asks. I don’t have anything on display in the pub, so only a few people know about it,” said the married father-of-one.

“I started when it was real belt and braces stuff, jumping with round parachutes.

“People tend to ask if it’s about getting an adrenaline rush, which it’s not.

“I’ve worked out my heart rate while I’m on the way up in the plane, and it’s normal.

“What attracts me to it is the skill involved. I can’t really put my finger on it. But once you’ve got to the point where you feel you are in control of the situation, it drives you on.”

Stewart takes part in highly-skilled formation skydiving, where participants only have around 60 seconds to manoeuvre into position while travelling at 120mph towards earth.

He recently returned from Skydive Perris, California, where he took part in a world first.

Stewart was in one of six planes that climbed to 18,500 feet before 130 skydivers aged over 40 jumped into the record books, hurtling towards terra firma at 54 metres per second while completing a complex wheel-shaped formation set by record adjudicators.

In the UK, he regularly jumps at Hibaldstowe, Lincolnshire and also practices at Airkix indoor skydiving centre in Trafford.

Married to wife, Lorraine, and father to 33-year-old son, Jordan, Stewart completes around 200 jumps a year – sometimes up to 30 times in any given week.

But even despite his experience, things don’t always go to plan, and there have been a number of occasions when his main parachute hasn’t deployed.

“I’ve had quite a few reserve rides. When things go wrong they go wrong fast, and you have to react very fast. You only have a few seconds to get it sorted out,” he said.

“You go into your reserve drill and if you don’t sort it quickly, you’re heading towards disaster.”

There was also the time in the 1980s when his parachute became entangled with a fellow jumper after a mid-air collision. Stewart had to disconnect from his main parachute and deploy his reserve.

While most his age would be thinking about retirement, he’s got no plans to pack away his parachute just yet.

Stewart’s next trip is to Portugal where, in roughly the time it takes to pull a pint, he’ll have completed jump 3,701.

To see a video of Stewart's record breaking skydive, visit theboltonnews.co.uk