Teenage ‘free runner’ fighting for his life after plunging 30ft through the roof of a derelict warehouse

Jordan White, 17, fell 30ft through a warehouse roof while 'free running' - a thrill seekers sport

A teenage 'free-runner' has been left with severe head injuries after falling 30ft through the roof of a derelict warehouse.
Jordan White, 17, from Colchester, Essex, is understood to have been using the abandoned site to take part in free-running -  a thrill seekers' sport in which participants run and jump over buildings and obstacles.
Jordan is being treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, after suffering severe head injuries and several broken bones.
His parents are now keeping a bedside vigil by the critically injured teenager.
It is believed the company trying to develop the buildings where Jordan fell were waiting for permission to demolish them after a fire broke out on site just the day before Jordan fell.
Father Kevin Grant, speaking from his bedside, said: 'I live near where it happened and his friend came running to get me. 
'When I got there I found him lying on the ground. 
'All the ambulance and air ambulance staff were terrific. They were there within ten minutes and you couldn't ask for more or fault their level of commitment.
'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.'
Jordan, a student at Colchester Sixth Form College, fell 30ft from the warehouse at Rowhedge Wharf, close to his home.
Mr Grant, who is at the hospital with Jordan's mother Mary, thanked people who have expressed their love for Jordan by phone, text and social media sites. 
He said: 'I have been onto his sites thanking everyone for all their kind messages. It is a comfort to know he has so many friends.'

It is believed the company trying to develop the buildings where Jordan fell were waiting for permission to demolish them after a fire broke out on site just the day before Jordan fell

Essex Police said they were urging children and teenagers to stay away from the disused warehouses because of the dangers on the site

Isaac Herbert, 16, from Rowhedge, was one of the first people on the scene when Jordan plunged through the roof on Friday.
He said: 'I got a call from a friend who said he had fallen through and I raced down to get his dad and we drove to the site. 
'His dad was comforting him but he was unconscious and couldn't do anything. 
'The paramedics were great.'
Isaac described Jordan as funny and charming, and said nobody has a bad word to say about him. 
He said: 'We are all keeping our fingers crossed.
'I am putting together a book with everyone saying what he means to them so I can give it to him when I see him.
'I don't think the friends who saw him fall will ever get over it.  All my thoughts are with his family. He is like a big brother and my mum says he is one of the family.' 
A spokesman for Essex Police said they were urging children and teenagers to stay away from the disused warehouses because of the dangers on the site.
Firefighters were called to a blaze at the derelict warehouses on Rowhedge Wharf on Thursday night.
The next day, Jordan fell through the roof of one of the buildings.
Mr Grant and Mike Lilley, borough councillor for Rowhedge, have asked why the site was not more secure.

Jordan was free-running, a thrill seekers' sport in which participants run and jump over buildings and obstacles

Friends have described Jordan as funny and charming, and said nobody has a bad word to say about him

Jonathan Hills, managing director of Hills Building Group, which wants to develop the site, said: 'It is very difficult to stop people getting access to the site because there is a footpath running through it and all around the side. 
'We are in the process of trying to get the buildings demolished but there is an ecology study that has to be completed before we can get planning permission to tear it down.'
He warned people not to enter the building, and added: 'Tresspassing on land and running across roofs is a risk they are taking. 
'It is absolutely an tragedy and we will get the buildings down as quickly as we can, but it could be two to three months.'
Mr Lilley has contacted Colchester Council's planning enforcement team to see if they can do anything. 
Jim Howes, who runs the Flight Freerunning Association in Essex and Hertfordshire, has offered advice on how to take up the sport safely.
He said: 'I have been doing it about eight years and when I first started it was on the streets and wherever you could find. 
'But now there are classes set up all over and Parkour parks all over the place.
'My advice is now there are more places to practise and learn how to control your body before jumping or running across roofs if that is what you want to do.'

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