The man who performed the world’s first ever bungee jump has died aged 78.

David Kirke and his friends jumped off Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol on 1 April 1979, after he was inspired by a ritual carried out on Vanuatu in the South Pacific.

His pioneering concept quickly took off, inspiring thrill-seekers around the world.

Mr Kirke’s family described him as “a free spirit” who “would never have changed the life he led”.

“He had, and needed, an iron constitution, led from the front and went where many feared to tread. He will be much missed,” they added.

Mr Kirke, one of the pioneers of Oxford’s Dangerous Sports Club, was the first to jump off the 245ft (76m) bridge. He did it wearing a top hat and tails and holding a bottle of champagne.

He was swiftly followed by his teammates.

The four were hauled back up by friends, arrested by police and later given a warning.

Bungee jumping from the suspension bridge has since been banned under by-laws.

Mr Kirke later said jumping from Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s 150-year-old structure, was an “almost beatific moment”.

He said the “real reward” though, was that his invention had made people he would never meet happy and had “given them fun”.

Following the stunt in 1979, the Dangerous Sports Club went on to perform jumps from structures like the Golden Gate Bridge in California, spreading the concept worldwide.

By 1982, they were jumping from mobile cranes and hot air balloons.

Mr Kirke’s family added he had “a kind and generous nature” and “loved the life he led, made friends in more than 40 countries, enjoyed a glass of wine and would never have changed the life he led”.  

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