An 82-year-old thrill seeker has ticked ‘skydive’ off her bucket list, and raised money for charity at the same time.

Dorothy Graham has raised almost £3,500 for Cancer Research UK and Hospice at Home with her skydive, which she has been eagerly waiting to carry out since her sons signed her up as a Christmas present.

The St James’s verger made the journey from Whitehaven to Swindon two weeks ago, ready for her leap of faith on Friday, September 13.

Despite the spooky date, Dorothy didn’t have a care in the world, and couldn’t wait to get up in the sky and fall through the air from 10,000ft – “hopefully” with a “tall, dark and handsome” Tandem Instructor.

Much to her delight, the former manager of Whitehaven Civic Hall had Luke Ingram as her skydiving partner, who was “lovely”, and everything she had hoped for.

Followed by one of her three sons, Dorothy hopped out of the plane in “gorgeous weather”, after her initial skydiving date had been rescheduled due to unsuitable weather.

And the vice-chairman of Whitehaven Action Heritage Group was over the moon to complete her dream, while also raising money for such worthy causes.

Explaining why she chose to fundraise by completing her skydive, Dorothy said: “I thought if I was going to skydive, I should raise some money.

“I had cancer 25 years ago, and my two sisters had it too, so cancer research is close to home for me.”

She added: “Hospice at Home is also important to the people of Whitehaven, and all of Cumbria, so I wanted to raise money for them as well.”

Commenting on the “absolutely amazing” experience, Dorothy said: “I wasn’t at all nervous. I’m not superstitious so the date didn’t scare me!

“There were quite a few young people saying ‘I couldn’t do that’, but while the thought of it might put you off, it’s really quite safe, and the team look after you so well.”

“It was an amazing day, and it’s also amazing just how generous people can be.”