VIDEO: Crawley Mayor's skydive to help disabled children

'˜Disability doesn't have to stop you making the most of life,' said the Mayor of Crawley after doing a charity sky-dive and raising almost £5,000 for disabled children.
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Cllr Chris Cheshire, who uses a wheelchair, and her instructor jumped out of a plane at Hinton skydive Club on Tuesday (April 26).

She said: “It was the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done!

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“I still can’t believe that I jumped out of a plane at thirteen thousand feet, went free fall for forty-five seconds at 120 mph, then floated down the rest of the way by parachute – but I did!”

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The jump was in aid of the Mayor’s charity Springboard Project, Stagelands, Langley Green, which supports disabled children.

Cllr Cheshire, who taught at Thomas Bennett Community College, retired after she suffered nerve damage in her back and started using a wheelchair 25 years ago.

She said the Springboard Project had to fundraise ‘constantly’ and raising funds for them “means everything” to her.

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She said: “I feel I have a connection with the children in Springboard and I’ve got an advantage over many of them - I’ve had half a life being fit and able.

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“After I retired I became the chair of governors at what was then Southgate Middle School, it had a special support facility for children with special medical needs.

“I could see the difference between the children, at five-years-old, growing up in an atmosphere where they were encouraged to have a go at everything and the children who were more protected.

“You could see how it was molding them and it’s that have a go at things and have fund that Springboard is helpting to develop in children.”

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To contribute to her fundraising, https:​//www.​justgiving.​com?MayorChris-skydive

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