Pensioner's skydiving challenge raises £100k

Chris Copeland completed 100 freefall skydives to raise £100,000 for the RNLI over a 10 year period

An 81-year-old has raised £100,000 for the RNLI by completing 100 freefall skydives.

Chris Copeland, from near Yeovil in Somerset, first set himself the "ambitious" challenge a decade ago, and has been collecting donations through sponsored skydives ever since.

Mr Copeland is no stranger to the thrill, having been a member of the British Army's 7th Parachute Regiment and making his first jump in 1964. He went on to do 716 more in his career.

“I might be older than most other jumpers by around 50 years or so, but I still love it," he said.

Mr Copeland recruited his daughter Melanie Exon and granddaughter Annabel Exon to help with his fundraising

As a keen yachtsman, Mr Copeland sails regularly and said: "You never know when you might need rescuing by the RNLI."

As a charity, the RNLI rely on donations and fundraising ideas from the public.

Dave Nicoll, RNLI Fundraising and Partnerships Lead for the south west, said Mr Copeland's achievements have "encouraged so many more to get involved".

“Chris is an inspiration," Mr Nicoll said.

"What he has achieved over the last 10 years, to raise a staggering amount of money for the RNLI, is incredible.

"He does this on top of being a very active chair of the Sherborne branch of the RNLI. The money raised will go towards training and equipping our volunteer lifeboat crew."

Mr Copeland's granddaughter, Annabel Exon, jumped alongside him to cheer him on and help raise funds

In addition to his own efforts, Mr Copeland encouraged others to jump alongside him for the life-saving charity.

“My idea was to encourage others to do a tandem jump while I jumped alongside them,” explained Mr Copeland.

“Right at the beginning I had set the target of £100,000, although at the time I thought it rather ambitious.

"However, it has worked and I am grateful to everyone - the 54 tandem jumpers who all helped me raise this sum and also to Skydive Buzz, I could not have done it without their dedicated team of instructors and staff.”

Jason Farant, the chief instructor at Skydive Buzz, said when Mr Copeland first approached him with the idea, he was impressed by his "enthusiasm and determination".

"He quickly adapted to modern skydiving, and we are now all delighted he had managed to raise quite so much money," he said.