Woman skydiving in aid of 'amazing' hospice

A woman is taking on a 15,000ft (4,572m) skydive to support the hospice that cared for her grandmother during her final months.

Sarah Johnson, from Moorlinch in Somerset, has so far raised more than £600 for St Margaret's Hospice in Taunton.

The 41-year-old praised the "amazing" hospice staff for supporting her whole family before and after her grandmother, Ann Jessopp, died in 2021.

"You need that support as a family when going through something so traumatic - they do it for free and it's lovely," Ms Johnson said.

The professional scuba diver said she has been wanting to do a skydive for about 20 years, but never had the courage to do it.

Ms Johnson added she was partly inspired by her grandmother, who was also a scuba diver, a keen horse rider and had completed a skywalk.

"I've never had the oomph behind me to do it, but it came up and I was just like I'm going to have to do it because she would have wanted me to," Ms Johnson said.

"She would've said 'you've got to do this - I don't know what you're worried about - just do it'," she added.

Although Ms Johnson said she is nervous, she added she is hopeful the skydive, on Saturday morning, will live up to her expectations.

Raising money and awareness of the work the staff at St Margaret's Hospice carry out is vital, she added.

In 2023/24, the hospice supported 4,833 people across Somerset, providing care for patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families and carers.

Ms Johnson's mum, Toni Hallett, said: "We wouldn't have coped without St Margaret's.

"They guided me through [Ann's] last days and were there for us when she passed."

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