THIS is the shocking moment a tourist brazenly bellyflops into a 260-year-old fountain – before he is slapped with a huge fine.
Jaw-dropping footage shows the New Zealander “diving” into Rome‘s Trevi fountain fully clothed.
Video shows the 30-year-old tourist striding confidently towards the water feature.
The man doesn’t bother removing his shoes, jeans or long-sleeved top.
He steps right up onto the edge of the fountain and launches himself into the water.
The tourist seems to put his arms out to dive, but splashes in inelegantly.
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Hilarious footage shows another holidaymaker posing in front of the baroque monument, unaware of the strange scene unfolding behind her.
Once in the fountain’s clear waters, the man can be seen wading back and forth and swimming around.
He ignored police demands to get out of the fountain.
The man was banned from the monument for life after the incident and slapped with a £436 fine.
Footage of the dive went viral in Italy sparking calls for harsher penalties for badly-behaved tourists – some even called for offending visitors to be thrown behind bars.
One woman raged on Facebook: “€500 is small change.
“If it was €5,000 they would think about it for a while.”
Another demanded: “Immediate arrest and release on bail.
“If you don’t pay, you shouldn’t get out.”
It comes after the monument introduced a €2 fee and built barriers to try and control the flow of tourists.
The historic Trevi Fountain in Rome dates back to 1762, and was built to provide water to citizens and show off the Catholic Church’s wealth.
More than a million Euros are thrown into the fountain each year, with visitors from all over the world chucking cash into the monument every day.
So many coins are launched into the fountain by tourists that the change has to be collected twice a week – it is then donated to charity.
