An intrepid diver quite literally plunged to new lows when he broke the world record for deepest sea dive.

Will Goodman, formerly of Aycliffe Road, Borehamwood, descended to 290m in the Indonesian ocean for a staggering nine hours and 57 minutes.

The 37-year-old spent nine minutes freefalling in absolute darkness, despite the exceptionally strong current.

He said: “The dive gave me a mission, a chance to train for something worthwhile.

“I have always been fascinated with depth and wanted to see myself not only want it is like, but to execute a technically challenging dive.

“It was the toughest and most challenging environment I’ve ever dived in.”

On his way back up, he began suffering from body tremors and began to question whether he would return in one piece.

But the diver's rigorous training paid off and he eventually made it back to dry land.

The daredevil, who lives in the island of Gili Trawangan, in Indonesia, also holds the world record for longest dive – at 48 hours.

Although not recognized as an official Guinness World Record as there is no category for this event, his achievement has been confirmed by professionals across the globe.

He added: “I can’t thank my team enough for this amazing opportunity and all their hard work.”