Skydivers jump to it to raise £15,000 for Blackpool's Trinity Hospice

A team of 21 people made a leap of faith as aerial dare-devils in the first skydive  from Trinity Hospice.
Lorna Pickles doing her skydive for Trinity Hospice's Linden CentreLorna Pickles doing her skydive for Trinity Hospice's Linden Centre
Lorna Pickles doing her skydive for Trinity Hospice's Linden Centre

The group took the plunge from 15,000 ft above Lancashire to raise money for the hospice.

Free falling at 120mph, each in tandem with an instructor from the Black Knights Parachute Centre at Cockerham near Lancaster, they raised more than £15,000.

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Fundraising assistant Antonia Hawkins said: “The Team Skydive event was absolutely brilliant.

Part of the 21-strong team taking part in the latest skydivePart of the 21-strong team taking part in the latest skydive
Part of the 21-strong team taking part in the latest skydive

“To have a group of 21 people so dedicated to helping us that they jump out of a plane at 15,000ft is just incredible, and between them they have helped to raise more than £12,000 in sponsorship. That is just amazing.

“We are very lucky to have had people doing skydives to raise money for us in the past, but this was the first time we had organised a team jump.

“We are so pleased with how it went, and everyone who was there told us they had a fantastic time.

“It’s certainly something we would like to do again.

The Trinity skydiveThe Trinity skydive
The Trinity skydive
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“A very big thank you to everyone involved, including Black Knights Parachute Centre and of course everyone who jumped out of the plane, and everyone who sponsored them.

“Together they are helping us to be there for every single person who needs us across the Fylde coast.”

Lorna Pickles who did a skydive to raise money for the Linden Centre at the hospice which offers bereavement support to children, said: “The jump itself was an absolute buzz – as soon as I got down I said I wanted to do it again. I will definitely do another one, but that’s something I never thought I’d say."

Her family experienced the sudden loss of Lorna’s sister, Nat, aged just 21, seven years ago. Nat, who worked at Claremont School, developed a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) shortly after

Inside the aircraftInside the aircraft
Inside the aircraft

giving birth to her little boy, Harry.

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Lorna, 31, said: “At the time, we had our own grief to deal with, but we also had this gorgeous little boy who needed us more than ever. We had absolutely no idea how to cope

with his grief.”

Lorna’s family got in touch with a counsellor at the Linden Centre, which offers bereavement support to all children on the Fylde coast.

She said: “They were absolutely invaluable. They helped us to understand how Harry would perceive his mother’s death, and how that perception would change as he developed and

understood more about the world.

“It helped us to plan for those difficult conversations and to help him understand at the various stages of his life what his mother’s death actually means.

“We can’t thank them enough for all the help they gave us. To me, raising this money was the absolute least I could do to go some small way to say thank you.”

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