Abseiling for charity

That’s the philosophy of brother and sister team Dave and Hannah Rourke, whose mum Annie is a puppy socialiser for Dogs for Good.

And that’s why they decided to abseil 328ft down Portsmouth’s Emirates Spinnaker Tower to raise money for the charity which trains and matches dogs to help people with a variety of disabilities, giving them practical support and enabling them to lead more independent lives.

Dogs for Good relies solely on donations to keep operational and the siblings – who both went to Cedars Upper – belong to its Milton Keynes supporters group.

Hannah, a 22-year-old trainee accountant now living in Hockliffe, did a tandem skydive last year for the charity at Hinton airfield.

She and Dave, 25 – a painter and decorator when he’s not filming as a stunt extra for the British Action Academy – decided to take on the abseil together.

Hannah said: “It’s extremely high and I was very nervous until I had both feet on the side and started the descent. Then I began to enjoy it – the view was absolutely spectacular.”

Dave added: “You had to be careful not to go down too quickly as it was easy to get caught by the wind whipping round the tower.”

It certainly whet their appetite for more adventurous fundraising activites – they’re now investigating Zip World Velocity in North Wales.

Hannah said: “Dogs for Good assistance dogs make a huge difference to people who have to cope with many challenges in everyday life. Not only do they provide physical help with day-to-day tasks but they also increase confidence and encourage conversation when people go out for walks, shopping or to social events. And this helps spread the word that the disabled are no different to anyone else.”

> Support Hannah and Dave at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Ann-Rourke2