Nearly 40 people took the plunge to raise more than £27,000 for a hospice charity with a sponsored skydive.

The 39 supporters of St Luke’s Hospice made the jump from 13,000ft on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday April 27, at Hinton Airfield in Northamptonshire.

The brave volunteers raised a total of £27,300 for the Hospice in Kenton Grange which cares and supports people with terminal illnesses.

St Luke’s former interim chief executive, Robert Creighton took on the challenge with his family.

He said: “It was a thrilling experience to do a skydive for St Luke’s – and to do it with my wife and two daughters too.

“There was a large group of St Luke’s supporters at the site so there was a great atmosphere of excitement.

“The jump itself was hugely exhilarating, and astonishingly not nearly as alarming as expected.

“I was delighted to mark the end of my time at the hospice in this way, and to raise some money to help maintain the excellent services here that support so many people locally at the end of their lives.”

Sixteen of those taking part were from the new Shree Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Kingsbury and collectively raised £14,000.

Bharat Pindoria, one of the members who made the jump and raised £5,400 said: “I would really like to thank all my friends and family who have donated to a great charity who are doing incredible work serving the local community.

“It was a fantastic once in a lifetime experience. The exhilaration when we jumped out of the aircraft at over 13,000 feet was exceptional.”

Bhavika Mistry, 32, from Harrow, who took part in the skydive said: “I did the skydive in memory of my nan.

“She appreciated all the help and support she received when she attended the Day-Care Unit once a week.”

In order to keep running and providing services to the people of Harrow and Brent St Luke’s needs to raise £3 million each year.