Paragliding Edinburgh bagpiper takes tunes to new heights as he plays over the Swiss Alps

A man has taken his piping to new heights as he paraglided across the Swiss Alps while playing the traditional Scottish instrument.

Tom Lewin, a member of the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band, soared 3,000 feet above the Lauterbrunnen Valley near Interlaken in Switzerland while he played.

The daredevil 64-year-old who lives in Edinburgh said the decision to take the instrument with him on the activity was a last minute one.

“I was on holiday. It was one of the things to do in the area, it looked like a bit of fun and the fellow that was actually flying it for me, I said to him, just as a last minute thing, ‘shall I take the pipes?’ And he said, ‘oh yes, why not?’ So, I think he quite enjoyed it,” Tom told STV News.

Posting the video on its Facebook page, the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band said: “For those of you who know Tom and for those that don’t, this is a normal thing for Tom.

“Tom loves his piping and making people laugh and I’m sure he is enjoying making all of you smile and laugh with his latest antics.”

Tom added: “To be honest, I’m quite surprised and quite amused that people are so interested in it because I just showed it to a pals in the band for a laugh and my pipe major, Mark Stewart, said, ‘oh I’ll put this on the Facebook page’, and it’s sort of taken off from there.”