Daredevil who parachuted into the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony dressed as James Bond killed in jumping accident

Tragic: Mr Sutton is thought to have died instantly in the accident near Martigny, close to the Switzerland-France border

The daredevil who amazed the world when he parachuted into the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony dressed as James Bond has been killed in a jumping accident. 

Mark Sutton, 42, died yesterday after crashing into a mountain ridge in the Swiss Alps after jumping from a helicopter in a wing-diving suit.

The former army officer is thought to have died instantly in the accident near Martigny, close to the Switzerland-France border.

Mr Sutton jumped with a friend from a height of 10,826ft (3,300m) at around 11am yesterday and had planned to land close to the hamlet of Le Peuty, near Trient.

The reason for the crash is unclear - it could be an unexpected gust of wind pushed Mr Sutton off course.

Mr Sutton, who served with the Gurkha Rifles, was one of 20 other wingsuit flyers taking part in an event filming an extreme sports video - it is not clear if he was taking part in the film when he was killed.

It is believed he arrived in Chamonix a few days ago with partner Victoria Homewood, 39, and had posted videos of himself on Facebook wingsuiting in the region, according to The Sun.

Killed: Mark Sutton, centre, the daredevil who amazed the world when he parachuted into the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony dressed as James Bond has died after a stunt went wrong. Pictured here with Gary Connery, right, the skydiving 'Queen' last summer

Her Majesty's Secret Service: Mr Sutton and Mr Connery drop into the stadium - the result was the most talked-about sequence the Olympics Opening Ceremony

Just ten days ago he posted a photo of himself taken seconds before the Olympics leap. He wrote: 'Just a year ago. What an adventure that was!'

My relationship with Mark was like that.'

Wing-suit flying, first developed in the 1990s, uses a special jumpsuit with webbing between the limbs to add surface area to the body and give it lift to enable to wearer to glide towards the ground before deploying a parachute.

Police in the Swiss Valais canton confirmed that a 42-year-old British man had died after jumping with a friend from a helicopter while wearing a wingsuit above the Grandes-Otannes area, close to the French border.

In a statement they said the pair jumped from a height of 10,826ft (3,300m) at around 11am yesterday and had planned to land close to the hamlet of Le Peuty, near Trient.

But a preliminary investigation suggests that he hit a ridge, it said.

He is yet to be formally identified.

'The victim, a Briton, was 42 years old. He was staying in Chamonix (in France) with 20 followers, considered among the best in the world in this discipline,' the statement said.

The Queen greets 007 at Buckingham Palace with the words 'Good Evening, Mr Bond' in the film sequence leading up to her parachute 'jump'