Charity skydive raises more than £8,000 for Cornwall Air Ambulance

  • Watch the moment some of the skydivers drifted back down to Earth.

A group of volunteers have raised more than £8,000 for Cornwall Air Ambulance through a charity skydive.

Members of the Newell’s Travel company decided to take on the challenge in Perranporth on Sunday 2 June.

Ten members gathered together for the skydive from around the West Country. Several taking part also had a personal reason for wanting to raise funds for the charity.

Marie, from the company's Bodmin office, said: "My nephew was saved by the Cornwall Air Ambulance when he was baby. He stopped breathing and that definitely saved his life, so it's a really valuable service."

Speaking ahead of the jump, she added: "I'm absolutely terrified, but here we go - Team Newells!"

The team of volunteers at Perranporth who took on the charity skydive. Credit: Bryony Penberthy.

Another member of the team personally grateful to the charity was Dave from Falmouth.

"It's a beautiful day here in Perranporth," he said.

"Many years ago, my father-in-law had a heart attack on a local harbour. He fell off the boat, he was a sailmaker doing some work on one of the yachts down there, and the air ambulance was called and saved his life. If he had been left to a normal ambulance, he wouldn't have made it - there's not a chance."

Dave added that Cornwall Air Ambulance is a "brilliant charity, a brilliant service down in Cornwall - the first air ambulance in the country".

"They're a fantastic service that needs everybody's support," he said.

"And I can't wait, even though I've only had two hours sleep after getting back from holiday last night."

While Dave enjoyed the jump despite only having two hours sleep, Lisa (left) said she probably would not jump out of an aircraft again. Credit: Bryony Penberthy.

Speaking after the jump, he said: "We survived, woo! Five thousand foot of free-fall. It was fantastic.

But not all of his colleagues enjoyed the experience as much. Lisa, from the St Austell branch, said she would not ever skydive again but it was "a great achievement and I can tick that one off my list for sure."

Another added: "I would not do it again... I just couldn't breathe."

Two of the volunteers taking part had family members who had personally been saved by Cornwall Air Ambulance. Credit: Bryony Penberthy.

But despite the ordeal of jumping from an aircraft thousands of feet in the air, the whole team were proud of the money they had raised and who was it for.

"Cornwall Air Ambulance are a vital part to keeping Cornwall going and I think that everyone has been touched by them in some way," said Annie from St Austell.

"I'm so glad we've been able to raise funds for such an important charity."

The group set the goal of trying to raise £7,000 for the air ambulance, but surpassed this by the afternoon, having already raised an extra thousand pounds.

Bryony Penberthy, the area manager for Newells Travel said: "They do a fantastic job, not just for the residents of Cornwall but also for the visitors that come down every year. It's an amazing achievement by the team, so far they've raised £8,000.

"There's still time to donate, so do find us on Facebook and click on the link if you'd like to donate."