A former Bond villain led an explosive freerunning session for Hounslow students.

Sebastien Foucan, whose character Mollaka was blown to smithereens in Casino Royale, showed youngsters the ropes of the urban sport at the Parkour facility in Avenue Park, Cranford, on Tuesday, January 12.

The freerunning pioneer teamed up with coach Jacob Peregrine-Whelle to teach students from nearby Cranford Community College some tricks.

The session marked the launch of a six-week coaching programme organised by Hounslow Council and the Foucan Freerunning Academy, with funding from London Sport.

It is part of wider efforts by the council to get more youngsters playing sport, with a number of other activities and projects planned across the borough.

The arts of freerunning and parkour, in which participants use a combination of strength, speed and skill to vault, climb and perform tricks on obstacles like railings and benches, are rapidly growing in popularity across the world.

The equipment in Avenue Park, hailed by the council as London's first purpose-built outdoor parkour course, was opened by Mr Foucan last August.

It was torched by arsonists just days later but thankfully the damage was minimal and was soon repaired.