• William Hart climbed over the railings of a luxury rooftop bar and announced he could 'make the jump'
• His friend looked over the edge and saw a large splash - but Mr Hart failed to resurface
• His body, which sustained multiple injuries, was found three hours later in waters five metres deep
• An inquest heard how Mr Hart had performed similar stunts before and had once jumped from a height into a swimming pool

A drunk British banker died when he jumped seven floors from a rooftop bar of a luxury Singapore hotel into the harbour while a friend filmed the dare on a mobile phone.

William Hart, 37, was more than three times the legal drink drive limit when he climbed over the metal railings of the Lantern bar on top of the Fullerton Bay Hotel and announced he could 'make the jump' to the water below, an inquest heard.

His friend saw a large splash in the water and rushed downstairs to look for him but, when he failed to resurface, asked hotel guards to help look for him.

William Hart climbed over the metal railings of the Lantern bar, on top of the Fullerton Bay Hotel (pictured), and announced he could 'make the jump' to the waters below

An official search began an hour and a quarter later and Mr Hart's body was eventually recovered from the waters of the Marina three hours after he jumped on April 7 last year.

Mr Hart - head of sales at the Bank of China International in Singapore - had performed similar stunts before, such as jumping from height into a swimming pool and other water features, Westminster Coroner's Court was told.

A statement from Singapore inspector Joseph Yoong said Mr Hart’s body was found on the sea bed in water five metres deep in the Marina Reservoir.

He added in the statement, which was read out to the court: 'Three hours before, on April 7 at 11pm, the deceased had jumped off the roof top of the hotel in an intoxicated state and plunged seven stories into the waters below. He died from drowning with multiple injuries.'

The inquest heard that Cynthia Nicot, an Australian friend of Mr Hart, had seen him 'attempting to jump into the swimming pool from height in October'.

She also confirmed Mr Hart had previously jumped into water features from height, Inspector Yoong's report added.

Mr Hart's body was eventually recovered from the waters of the Marina (pictured) three hours after he jumped

The statement said: 'On April 7 the witnesses and the deceased were drinking at the Lantern located at the roof of the Fullerton Bay Hotel. The deceased had several glasses of wine.

'At around 11pm, while Maruki Yuki [a childhood friend of Mr Hart] and the deceased were drinking they commenced in walking around the rooftop.

'They stopped by the railings and Mr Yuki took out his mobile phone and filmed the deceased, wanting to show him what he said in the video when he was drunk. Whilst this recording took place, the deceased told him he wanted to jump down from the roof and thought he could make the jump.

'Mr Yuki told him not to play the fool and asked him to go home. Whilst Mr Yuki was still recording, the deceased climbed over the railings and jumped off the roof of the Fullerton Bay Hotel, which is about seven stories high. Mr Yuki looked over and saw a big splash in the waters. He rushed down to search for him but could not see him.'

A search of the Marina started at 12.45am and his body was discovered at 2am.

Inspector Yoong's statement added: 'The video footage revealed the deceased wanted to jump off the roof and said he thought he could do so.'

Mr Hart, who was found with an alcohol level of 253mg per 100ml of blood, suffered several rib fractures and bruises as well as other injuries as a result of his fall.

His brother Julian, who attended the inquest, described Mr Hart as 'an intelligent, ambitious, egalitarian and fun-loving person'.

He said in a statement: '[He] loved his family and friends above all else and so was incredibly popular. Emotional intelligence was his forte. His need to interact with others was his life blood and strength.'

He was educated in the UK and Hong Kong, gained a degree from Leeds University, studied law in York and practiced as a barrister in London before turning to banking.

Mr Hart added: 'He was a keen sportsman and collected accolades in numerous sports growing up, including swimming and tennis.'

An examination of the Lantern bar found that it met safety requirements with metal railings, the inquest was told.

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said: 'Levels of alcohol showed he would have been clearly intoxicated and ability to respond to stressful situations such as drowning would have been impaired.'

She said Mr Hart had been an 'extremely talented man' and that he was 'good fun and friendly' who 'clearly had a lot of friends'.

She added: '[His friends] tried to stop him with the advice that he should go home. He didn’t listen.'

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Dr Wilcox said: 'It is a very sad tale of a young man intoxicated doing something profoundly stupid which unfortunately took his life. It is such a tragic waste for those left behind him.'