Tom Hardy Slammed For 'Tomb-Stoning' In New Ad Where A Man Died In 2007

Tom Hardy has been blasted for cliff-diving in a new advert off a notorious spot in Devon where a man died in 2007.

In the arty black and white clip for South Korea’s Hyundai credit card, the ‘Revenant’ star is seen atop a 30-foot cliff in the Berry Head National Nature Reserve in Brixham.

He – or a stunt double, it’s currently unclear - then leaps from the cliff into the sea below, but it has emerged that it is the precise spot where 46-year-old Delwyn Jones died doing the same jump in 2007.

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“Tom Hardy is a role model and young people look up to him. It is really sending out the wrong message,” said a spokesman for Berry Head Coastguard.

“They obviously didn’t do their research about tomb-stoning very well for the advert, because it is extremely dangerous.

“Tom Hardy, or his stunt double, wasn’t wearing a wetsuit either and it was filmed in October, so the water would have been freezing cold.

“It’s very difficult to judge how deep water actually is because it may be shallower than it seems, and there can be submerged rocks.

“You can suffer from cold water shock and getting out of the sea can be more difficult than it seems because there are very strong currents which can sweep you away.”

The coastguard and the emergency services are 'frequently’ called to cliffs to rescue young people who have jumped from the clifftops after drinking.

However, the Countryside Trust has hailed the shooting of the advert as a success.

“Production companies have used our sites for various filming projects over the years, but we have never had a star as big as Tom Hardy pay us a visit before,” said a spokesperson.

“The project was a great coup for the Trust and all funds raised have been ploughed back into local conservation work.”

Hardy has so far not commented on the matter.

Image credits: YouTube/Hyundai