Leighton Buzzard woman taking on skydive for Road Victims Trust in memory of dad

Bethany Waters, 33, will be jumping out of a plane over Peterborough Airfield as she aims to raise as much money as possible for the Road Victims Trust.

The charity helped her family after her father, Gerald 'Gez' Waters, 58, died in a crash en route home from Butlin's, Skegness, in May 2024.

Bethany said: "My Dad would have been 60 this year and I just knew that I wanted to do something big in his memory.

"One of the last things I remember talking to him about was his 60th, talking about all the ideas that we could do.

"It's been a journey for our whole family, it's been tough, but the Road Victims Trust has made it easier.

"It's such a unique circumstance – there are so many things that you wouldn't think about, or wouldn't know about, until you go through it. Charities like this are so important."

Bethany grew up in Leighton Buzzard along with her big sister, Emily, and were a "close family of four" along with mum, Michelle, and dad, Gez.

Gez worked from home running his own graphic design business – and Bethany later followed in his footsteps, studying the subject at university.

She said: "I'd say he was quite a quiet person, but to people who knew him, he was one of the funniest people – he'd say the subtlest, most funny thing. He was super caring and would just do anything for us.

"I think me and him, we had all this stuff in common – geeky graphic design – we'd have conversations and no one else would know what we were talking about. We'd stay up until two in the morning having a G&T and chatting about space!"

After landing a design job with Butlin's, Bethany treated her family to a holiday at the Skegness resort.

But after "a really nice trip", things took a tragic turn as they were coming home to Leighton Buzzard.

The car in which Gez and Michelle were driving was involved in a crash – Gez died at the scene and Michelle was airlifted to Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, with life-threatening injuries.

Bethany said: "I'd got back to my parents' house and got a phone call from my mum. It was just like my whole world had collapsed. I didn't want to believe it."

Thanks to the "incredible care" from the hospital team, Michelle was able to return home after only couple of weeks, with Bethany moving in to care for her mum.

The family reached out to the Road Victims Trust, and thanks to the charity's free counselling sessions, Bethany says her mum has been able to rebuild her life.

She said: "It's been a massive help. That's why I want to give back. I've seen such a difference in her."

Bethany will take to the skies along with her cousins, Isobel Bannister, Andy Littlefair, and Richard Danenbergs.

You can click here to donate to their fundraiser, which currently stands at £2,265.

Bethany also wished to say a huge thank you to the team at Nottingham Queen's ICU and Trauma Ward, and The Air Ambulance Service – "who literally saved my mum's life" – and to her colleagues at Butlin's for their support.