Leighton Buzzard daughter's charity skydive raises over £3k in honour of dad
A Leighton Buzzard woman completed a daring skydive in memory of her father and raised over £3,000 for charity.
Bethany Waters, 33, took to the skies on Sunday, October 18, along with her cousins Isobel Bannister, Andy Littlefair, and Richard Danenberg, as they made a daring leap in aid of the Road Victims Trust.
She told the LBO: "The jump happens so quickly, you don't have time to worry about it. I closed my eyes when I had my feet dangling out of the plane and when I finally opened them I was in the clouds – it was so surreal.
"My Dad wouldn't have believed that I would have done that – he would have been very surprised – and I think he would have jumped with us if he'd have been here."
The family chose to support the Road Victims Trust because of the support it gave to Bethany's mum, Michelle, following the accident.
She had been in the car with Gerald and sustained life-threatening injuries – and reached out to the Road Victims Trust for counselling sessions during her recovery.
"It's been a massive help. That's why I want to give back. I've seen such a difference in her," explained Bethany.
The graphic designer chose to book a skydive because she wanted to mark the year that her father would have turned 60.
The original jump had been planned for September – but due to bad weather it was postponed until October.
Bethany said: "The night before the actual jump, I was so convinced it wouldn't be safe enough that I didn't think much about it! I thought we'd end up doing it in the spring."
Bethany and have brave cousins were flown between 10,000 and 13,000 ft high and endured temperatures of minus ten degrees in the free fall.
Describing her favourite moment, she added: "I loved the bit where the parachute came up and I could see all my family and friends down there. They were cheering for us as we landed."
Bethany and her family also took part in The Bedford Charity Chase five mile run at Turvey House this September, raising money together for the Road Victims Trust.
And you can still donate to the skydive fundraiser here, which currently totals £3,400.
Bethany concluded: "I'd like to say a massive thank you to all the people who have donated – so many friends names have popped up on there, people I haven't seen for a while.
"Thank you to everyone who has supported us, and thank you to everyone who turned up to watch us."
Click here to find out more about The Road Victims Trust – which "provides emotional and practical support" to people affected by serious road collisions across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.