Simon conquers his fears for charity

Picture: Simon leaps into the skies

A man who is terrified of heights has confronted his fear with a 16,000ft charity skydive.

Simon Tanner plunged from an aircraft at Grindale Skydive, Bridlington, to support his nephew Jack Fletcher and his fiancée Emma Bottomley, both 25 and of Malton, because Emma has ovarian cancer.

The daredevil challenge raised £3,200 for York Against Cancer, smashing a £2,000 target set by Simon before the tandem parachute jump.

He chose to raise money for York Against Cancer in thanks for the help YAC offered Emma after her diagnosis in February.

The charity runs two luxury respite homes offering free short breaks to cancer patients and their families and Emma was due to visit one of them when her condition deteriorated.

Simon, 49, of Bridlington, is a unit manager at Greenshield Leisure in Carnaby and the firm sponsored his skydive, which took place on August 1.

After his parachute jump Simon said: “What a buzz! I was properly nervous because I can’t do heights at all, so when I got in the plane I was like a jelly.

“Then a lad just threw himself out and they told me it was time. When I got to the edge I very nearly bottled it but I just thought about Emma and all the money that people had given and I thought, ‘Let’s do it!’

“It was absolutely fantastic – you could see for miles and it was so quiet and peaceful. I want to do it again! I am so pleased I have done it for Emma. She was too ill to come along but she said, ‘I can’t believe you’ve jumped out of a plane for me.’

“The money that people have given is amazing – I have had donations from people with cancer and people I don’t even know.

“YAC have been so helpful to Emma and her family and they deserve all the funds that we can raise. The more we raise, the more York Against Cancer can support more families.”

Emma and Jack have been together since the age of 14 after meeting at Malton High School.

Emma became a molecular diagnostician at FERA, Sand Hutton, while Jack is winery manager at his family’s business, Ryedale Vineyards.

Emma was treated for an ovarian cyst five years ago which turned out to be cancerous but was contained and she was apparently fit and well until last Autumn.

A keen runner, she had taken part in the Great North Run 2018 and thought the pain she had was due to running and going to the gym.

When her pain did not go away, tests confirmed in February this year that the ovarian cancer had returned. She and Jack were due to marry in June, but the ceremony has had to be put on hold.

There’s still time to support Simon’s skydive through his online fundraising page, https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/simon-tanner4