Reporter hits the deck trying to leap onto pier smashed in wild weather

A reporter has hit the deck trying to jump onto the broken off portion of Frankston Pier. Photo / Twitter

A reporter has hit the deck trying to leap onto a smashed portion of Frankston Pier, calling his epic jump a "huge mistake".

The reporter, Mark Santomartino, from Channel 9, wearing a suit and carrying a microphone, ran at speed out into the churning ocean and leapt onto the pier, but fell quickly onto his backside as he was lashed at his feet by a small wave.

About 10 metres of Frankston pier snapped off and washed away after the area was lashed by ferocious winds and large swells last night, news.com.au reports.

Winds reached up to 120km/h, with a local man telling the Herald Sun the winds felt "cyclonic".

Huge mistake.#frankstonpier pic.twitter.com/LnyMoYGi3t

— Mark Santomartino (@msanto92) August 9, 2019

Mr Santomartino earlier retweeted a photo of the pier, before his attempt to board it appeared on his Twitter timeline.

"Huge mistake," he tweeted, sharing the video earlier today, in a tweet that is quickly attracting attention online.

Can confirm that the mic stayed dry and worked well enough for a pirate-themed PTC

— Mark Santomartino (@msanto92) August 9, 2019

"Yeah but you gave it a crack," one man tweeted back at the reporter.

"Is that a mic in your hand," one person asked?

"Employee of the week," another person commented.

Nine Melbourne chief of staff Gillian Lantouris shared the video saying the bureau had "a very cold and damp reporter in Frankston this morning".

Mr Santomartino told 3AW this afternoon he was thankfully not hurt by his fall at the beach.

"I'm completely fine, just a bruised ego," he said.

The journalist has previously made headlines for being injured on the job.

Last year he was viciously swooped by a magpie in a suburban park, as he set up for an interview.

Swooped. Last time I set up an interview at a park @9NewsMelb where was my magpie warning @nicketchells10? pic.twitter.com/rkhHmwq4vy

— Mark Santomartino (@msanto92) September 5, 2018

"Before the interview, I went for a walk and unbeknown to me, I walked by a tree with a magpie," Mr Santomartino said at the time.

"Out of nowhere, from my left hand side, I got clipped in the head.

"All I remember seeing is a flash of black and white. I flinched but it got me just above my hairline." He was left bleeding profusely from the head.

The event was particularly upsetting because the intrepid journalist said he has a fear of birds.