Grandmother, 80, ticks wing walking off bucket list

Suzanne Gratton, 80, standing on a Boeing Stearman plane Image source, Suzanne Gratton
Image caption,

Suzanne Gratton took to the sky to raise money for charity

  • Published

An 80-year-old woman who fulfilled a bucket list dream to go wing walking said the experience was "frightening, but amazing".

Suzanne Gratton, from Maldon in Essex, raised more than £1,000 for Parkinson's and neurological charities when she completed the challenge in Kent on Sunday.

Ms Gratton was attached to a Boeing-Stearman that had been used for pilot training during the Second World War, and her grandchildren cheered as she soared through the air.

It was her aim to do the wing walk before her 81st birthday in November. Her next challenge, however, will be more down to earth - learning the ukulele.

Image source, Wilkin & Sons
Image caption,

Suzanne Gratton, 80, had the support of her family as she soared through the sky

The 80-year-old has worked at a tea room in Tiptree for seven years and said her job was what inspired her to support different charities.

"You see people coming in to enjoy time with friends and to forget their problems," she said.

"I wanted to make a small contribution to help some of them."

Its manager, Kelly Enefer, described the grandmother as a "pocket rocket".

"She is always busy dashing around the tea room, full of life, and also achieving some great adventures outside of work too," she said.

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