THREE brave Burnham-on-Sea fundraisers have raised more than £2,000 for a local rescue charity by taking part in a sky dive last weekend.

BARB crewmembers Alan Heal and David Kemp, plus supporter Craig Kick, jumped out of a plane at 15,000ft over Salisbury Plain on Saturday (June 5), in order to raise funds for Burnham’s BARB Search & Rescue, which operates rescue hovercrafts and inshore rescue boats.

Alan, 66, explained: ”I have always wanted to do a sky dive, and now that I’ve reached pension age it was now or never!

“I’m not a good flyer and I am terrified of heights, so this was a huge challenge for me and completely out of my comfort zone.

“In fact, on the day, I was more excited than nervous.

“The only brief moment of anxiety was when I put my legs out over the side of the plane, but I didn’t have time to think about it as that was the point of no return!

“We free-fell down to 6,000ft for over a minute, before my instructor pulled the rip chord and did a couple of twirls that felt like an extreme rollercoaster ride.

“The views were simply stunning - we saw lots of impressive landmarks from a bird’s-eye view, including Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge and Southampton in the distance.

“It was an amazing feeling - just stunning! There was a gentle glide down to the ground and it was a really smooth landing.”

Alan added: “I loved every moment of it and would 100 per cent do it again - it was a superb experience.

“My thanks go to everyone that has supported us and donated funds towards the life-saving work of BARB along our local coastline.

“When the opportunity arose to do a charity sky dive, I decided it would be a great way to give something back to this amazing organisation.

“BARB is just a small charity that relies on donations to keep running and, given the challenges of the past year, they need the support more than ever.”

So far, £1,175 has been raised by Alan Heal, £400 by Craig Kick and £415 by David Kemp.

Derek Nijenhuis has also raised £550, but his sky dive was delayed until later in the year for medical reasons.

Anyone interested in joining a future BARB sky dive can call Craig Dunbar at BARB on 07765 252451 for more details.

Donations can still be made, via the fundraising page here.