KIND-HEARTED thrill-seekers have plummeted to earth in aid of a Tavistock charity which helps families in urgent need of practical support. Anna Percival and her friends and care home colleagues leapt from a plane 15,000 feet up into the unknown in aid of the Mary Budding Trust and raised about £1,800, exceeding their target by nearly £300.

Anna Percival, Richard Moreton, Max Jones and Jimmy Hext-Williams bravely jumped out of the plane strapped to a qualified parachutist in aid of the charity which supports local families with practical child support. All four are childcare workers in Okehampton, at a home which is part of Phoenix Care and Education.

Anna admitted to being very nervous before the leap, but said: ‘The day was perfect, our families joined us to watch our achievements, along with Sarah from the Mary budding Trust.

‘We all watched with excitement as others jumped before us awaiting our chance. Our names were called and we all got kitted up, laughing and joking reassuringly.

‘As we climbed to 15,000 feet our guides were giving us an excellent tour.

It took 15 minutes to reach altitude and you don’t realise how high it is until we were up there! One by one we scooted along the beach following our fellow jumpers one after another. It was over in a second, sitting on the edge looking down, to suddenly falling.

Distance was then became irrelevant and there was an eerie calm.

‘What felt like a second was our whole 60-second free fall over. Then the parachute ejected and we saw the spectacular views of Devon. We could see each other and had huge smiles on our faces!’

‘Cheered on by family and friends, we were incredibly proud to have raised money for a well deserving charity. We’are even wondering what we will do next.’

Anna has an extra reason to support the charity, her dad is the cousin of one of the charity’s founders, Ann McDonald, (Mrs Mac) MBE, who died in 2015 of cancer. She died shortly after receiving her MBE, but was too ill to be presented with it.

Anna added:’ On a personal note, I know that Mrs Mac, who dedicated her life to various charity organisations would be incredibly proud to have continued her legacy!

The trust is a local charity from Tavistock and does really important work. It’s close to our heart because of the work we do and because it’s also what we do is more than a job.’

Sarah Pendle, Mary Budding Trust chair, said: ‘The trust is really delighted to have four such brave people to jump from an aeroplane all in aid of us. They are brilliant people for doing this.’

The trust supports children with additional needs aged 11 and under in West Devon. It has provided mobility equipment, travel costs, speech therapy and psychotherapy, and sensory equipment.