'We tried to talk him out of it', say family of influencer, 26, who died falling from Spain's highest bridge

The 26-year-old, from Derby, fell over 160ft after scaling up the Castilla La Mancha bridge, approximately 90 minutes southwest of Madrid, at the weekend. He had been climbing with a friend, who hasn’t been named.

Clifford Stevenson told MailOnline that the family attempted to talk his grandson out of his plan to climb the Spanish bridge. "We all tried to talk him out of it, “ he said. “We were always trying to talk him out of doing things but that was the way he was.”

"He loved doing it, always went out there believing he'd be alright. He did what he did for his own pleasure. He did not get any money for it, he was an adventurer."

Stevenson's mum Keilia also paid tribute to her son in a statement she gave to Derbyshire Live, calling Stevenson “[her] world.” "Lewis was my boy, my world and my biggest achievement. He was happy and ambitious in life. He was a thrill seeker who loved to travel and have new experiences."

Keilia also said that she “didn’t particularly agree with” her son's passion for “rooftopping”, where a person climbs unsecured to the top of buildings, cranes or any other tall structures, but accepted it something he loved.

She continued: "We, as a whole family, supported his adventures around the world, which included amazing places he got to visit like Easter Island and Machu Picchu, but unfortunately, those adventures also included climbing great heights, which we didn’t particularly agree with but understood this was what he loved to do.

"He knew his limits and never did anything beyond them. He was a keen photographer and he did this all for passion not as an influencer. There will forever be a hole in our hearts and life will not be the same again. We are absolutely devastated by this tragic accident and ask people to please be respectful whilst we grieve."

Stevenson’s girlfriend, Savannah Parker, also previously paid tribute to him on her on her Facebook page. She wrote that living without him is a “nightmare” and urged her friends to hug their loved ones “extra tight”.

She believes he may have passed out on the bridge which caused him to fall, as reported by The Sun. She said: "He didn't just fall. He lost consciousness because he wasn't feeling well. His friend who he was with sent me over his police statement. He told his friend he wasn't feeling well and he said 'shall we go back down?’. Lewis said, 'give me a minute', and that's when he lost consciousness and slipped."

Stevenson had been climbing for more than five years and was known for his ambitious attempts at scaling some of the tallest landmarks in Europe and the United States. Photos on his Facebook page show him standing hundreds of feet in the air on top of a New York skyscraper, overlooking London on top of a metal beam and even peering over a forest in Croatia.

"Every time he went away I would tell him to be careful," Parker added. "As much as it worries me, I don't look into things because I worry enough as it is and I just let him do his thing and generally he just comes back. This weekend he didn't. It is one thing to hear that he's gone but it's how tragic it happened."

Authorities in Spain said Stevenson was climbing up the 630ft bridge with a 24-year-old friend at around 7.15am on Sunday morning (October 13) when the tragedy happened. Emergency services, including National Police, local firefighters, and paramedics, rushed to the scene, but he died despite medical efforts. Police said the friend was left traumatised and in a state of shock for some time after the fatal plunge.