An 85-year-old supporter of Golborne Band has taken to the skies to help raise funds as they look forward to representing the North West Area at the Cheltenham National Finals in September.

Brian Pennington has just leapt out of a plane at 15,000ft to help raise over £600 towards the costs.

Loved it

The story was reported on the regional Leigh Journal website with Brian, who has been associated with the band since the age of 14 saying that he wanted to mark his 85th birthday by helping their efforts.

He said in the report: "I did a skydive for Wigan and Leigh Hospice when I was 80 and I absolutely loved it so thought for my 85th birthday on Saturday I'd do it for the band and raise money to help them get to Cheltenham.

At my age I am not able to run half marathons or walk twenty miles to raise money. However, it's fairly simple to get into a plane go to 15,000 feet and jump out and let gravity do the rest."

Deserve it

He added: "You could skydive 10 times and never get tired of that feeling. I just hope I raise enough to help the band get to the championships. They deserve it."

You can support Brian's efforts at: https://tinyurl.com/golborne2024