East Sussex teenager skydives in Salisbury to fund rare eye condition research

A teenager from East Sussex has skydived more than 15,000 feet over Salisbury as fundraises for research into a rare eye condition.

It's one of a number of events that Nathan Dunbar, who's 17 and from Polegate, has taken part in for charity Fight for Sight over the last three years.

Nathan, who has a rare eye condition, hopes it will help fund an effective treatment to "transform the lives of people like me."

Nathan was diagnosed with keratoconus in both of his eyes five years ago.

The condition means the cornea (the clear membrane that lets light into the eye) progressively thins, causing a cone-like bulge to develop.

It causes poor vision and there is currently no cure.

Nathan said:  “I think it is very important to raise money for research into such an uncertain eye condition that affects so many people – many of whom are under the age of 20.

"I know that by raising this money, I am helping to fund research into a new and more effective treatment for keratoconus, which will transform the lives of people like me.”

Fight for Sight is currently supporting research at Nottingham University to investigate the underlying nerve structures in keratoconus.

It's also recently contributed to research at Guys Hospital and Moorfield Eye Hospital to understand the effectiveness of a new treatment.

Sarah Campion from the charity said: “We are so grateful to Nathan for taking on this challenge and fundraising for us.

"Eye research was already a hugely underfunded area and this has only been made worse during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We know that researchers are on the cusp of breakthroughs and we can’t let Covid-19 affect our long-term mission – to create a world everyone can see.”

Nathan was due to be abseiling 430ft down the British Airways i360, but that has been postponed until September.