Blind veteran completes final charity parachute jump

Danny Gibbon was strapped to a professional parachutist for the 10,000ft jump

A blind veteran paratrooper who relived the thrill of jumping out of a plane at the age of 88, has said he will not be doing it again.

Danny Gibbon, from Swindon, enlisted in the Army at the age of 17 in 1954 to honour his father, who was killed at Dunkirk during World War Two.

His jump from 10,000ft (3,048m) at Netheravon Airfield, Salisbury, has raised nearly £2,000 for Blind Veterans UK.

"Getting in touch with the charity is the best thing I've ever done, which is why I wanted to give something back. The jump was great but my legs were wobbly for two days afterwards," he said.

The tandem jump on 13 September saw Mr Gibbon go back to his roots as he completed a parachuting training course at the same airfield in the 1950s.

"It was completely different to what I did 70 years ago," he said.

"Back then I would just want to get out of the plane as quickly as possible as I had a great big machine gun strapped to me and could hardly walk.

"This time I was hanging out the edge of the plane waiting for the jump.

"After the jump, the chaps asked if I would be back for my 89th birthday. Absolutely not," added Mr Gibbon.

Mr Gibbon enlisted in 1954 and joined the parachute regiment because he wanted the "thrill of jumping into enemy territory"

Mr Gibbon has macular degeneration and recently had cataracts surgery, which has left him with a small amount of sight in one eye.

"Blind Veterans UK has been brilliant," he said.

"I’ve been provided with talking books and I attend local meetings with fellow blind veterans, and I’ve played bowls."

His wife, Carol, said she had suggested her husband take on the challenge to celebrate his 88th birthday, as a tribute to his father, and to help others "going through what we went through".