This was the extraordinary scene that greeted an unsuspecting Spanish nun when a Headcorn man came soaring over her head.

Wingsuit pilot Sam Laming was travelling at more than 100mph when he passed metres above the woman who was sitting on the balcony of a monastery in Montserrat reading a book.

The extraordinary image was taken purely by chance by Mr Laming’s friend, Jarno Cordia, during a promotional shoot near Barcelona for extreme sports clothing range, Total Oxygen.

Mr Laming, who teaches music, said: “It wasn’t until reviewing the footage afterwards that we noticed the nun – we laughed so much. We wondered what she was thinking.

“Wingsuits are incredibly loud when flying past close.”

The 27-year-old, who took up the sport five years ago after spending two years sky diving, has so far completed more than 1,000 jumps and has even had some of his footage used in an episode of American crime drama CSI.

In the episode, a suspect seems to have a rock-solid alibi due to his distance from the crime scene but police soon realise he may have leapt from the building and flown away.

Mr Laming says some people have misconceptions of the mind-set of wingsuit athletes.

Mr Laming in action

He said: “We are not adrenaline junkies who have a death wish, we train hard.

“It’s a hell of a lot of fun but also takes a lot of dedication and eats into a lot of my life.”

Mr Laming, who has travelled around the world as part of the sport, has a number of trips planned in the coming months, including a leap from the top of The Eiger, one of Switzerland’s most famous peaks which stands at more than 13,000ft.

He says his future goals are to attract more sponsorship, take part in more competitions and ultimately complete more jumps.

Follow his travels on facebook.