Brave Fieldhead manager makes 15,000ft leap of faith

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust employee Glenda Hartshorne has taken to the skies to do a parachute jump in support of the Prince of Wales Hospice.

More comfortable on a ward than hanging out of the door of an aeroplane, Glenda, who is the team manager at the Horizons Centre, Fieldhead, had to battle her nerves before making the jump.

Glenda signed up to take part in the tandem jump at Brigg Airfield, Scunthorpe, after seeing the advert in a shop window. At the same time as fulfilling a life long dream and overcoming a fear of heights, she also managed to raise £1,100 for the hospice.

After weeks of planning and gathering sponsorship money the jump day finally came around and everything seemed to be going according to plan until the sunny weather disappeared and the nerves started to build.

After being delayed for three hours and a read of a good book, the nerves had passed as had the clouds and the 18 jumpers boarded ready for the 15,000ft drop.

Glenda, who is from Normanton, made sure nerves didn’t get the better of her and faced her fear head on as her instructor leapt out of the plane with her in tow.

Glenda said, "It was fantastic. I haven’t stopped smiling since and neither have my friends after seeing the pictures of the jump in which I look a lot like Roy Chubby Brown!

"The jump went well and it felt as if we weren’t moving and we managed to make a perfect landing on the cross."

Glenda is now planning to do another jump next year in which she hopes to raise twice as much money.

She said, "I’d like to thank everyone for being so generous and let them know they can be even more generous next year when I make the jump again!"