A thrill seeking great-gran has celebrated her 90th birthday - with a skydive

A thrill seeking great-gran has celebrated her 90th birthday - by taking to the air and SKYDIVING from 15,000 feet
A thrill seeking great-gran has celebrated her 90th birthday - by taking to the air and SKYDIVING from 15,000 feet

Story from SWNS

A thrill seeking great-gran has celebrated her 90th birthday - by taking to the air and skydiving from 15,000 feet.

Sprightly Patricia Baker said it felt "awesome" to plunge from a whopping three miles up in testing conditions.

Brilliant photos and videos show the widowed gran-of-ten dressed in a red jumpsuit flying through the sky.

Patricia said she "wasn't too worried" about the jump because she "keeps herself fit" by doing 50 sit ups every morning.

And her main motivation was to raise some money for charity, she added.

Speaking shortly after landing, Patricia said: "It felt awesome, a little bit scary but absolutely awesome.

"I was a bit nervous when I was sitting with my legs off the plane but then we were off.

"It was an incredible experience to fly through the air like that.

"I did have a bit of a shock when the parachute went off because it jerked me back, so I am a little bit sore now - I'll be fine tomorrow though."

Patricia, from Leyland, Lancs., got the idea to skydive earlier this year while talking to a friend who mentioned she has a bucket list.

The retired factory worker said: "I realised I didn't have one so thought I better think of something to do to celebrate my birthday.

"I've always quite liked the idea of skydiving so I thought, 'let's do that then'.

"I had been on a hot air balloon before and paragliding many years ago but never anything quite like this."

Due to her age Patricia's doctor wouldn't sign a medical form enabling her to dive, so she had to go to the dive centre and pass a medical test.

The lockdown threw another spanner in the works, as she wasn't able to jump on the original date, which was just a few days before her birthday on July 1.

Mum-of-three Patricia finally got the jump done at around 8am at Black Knights Parachute Centre near Lancaster yesterday.

Her daughter Carole, who was watching from the ground, said: "It was quite nerve wracking to watch.

"It was really breezy so I was a bit concerned about that.

"She actually landed half a mile horizontally from where she jumped because she was blown across.

"I was definitely happy when she landed safely."

She added: "I'm really proud of her for doing it, at her age it's quite an achievement.

"Funnily enough when she told me she wanted to do it I wasn't even that surprised.

"My mum is very fit and outgoing, she's amazing."

Patricia lives alone and enjoys here time gardening and playing with a bowls team, according to Carole.

Her husband Thomas passed away in 2016.

Patricia used the jump to raise money for two causes close to her heart.

One fundraiser has been set up to help build a sensory room at the school her special needs great grandson attends.

And another is dedicated to Derian House Children's Hospice, for the "fantastic" work they do.

Donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/patricia-baker-90

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