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Wing-walking grandmother from Maidstone raises £2,000 for Brain Tumour Charity

A daredevil grandmother celebrated her 80th birthday hundreds of feet in the sky, strapped to the outside of a plane.

Anne Bristow from Maidstone was raising money in tribute to several loved ones who have been affected by brain tumours with a hair-raising wing-walk.

Anne strapped to the plane before take-off
Anne strapped to the plane before take-off

The now 81-year-old organised horse-riding events, abseiling and taking part in Pretty Muddy runs in her 80th year, with the aim of earning £500 for The Brain Tumour Charity.

By the time she did her wing-walk that total was already at £2,000.

Family, friends and neighbours watched in awe as Anne was strapped to the top of the plane which took off from Headcorn Aerodrome.

The grandmother described it as “exhilarating.”

She said: “It was just as the weather improved so there were blue skies and the atmosphere was fantastic.

“We banked to the left and then to the right, then came down almost vertically.

Aged 81 Anne has raised over £2000 for The Brain Tumor Charity
Aged 81 Anne has raised over £2000 for The Brain Tumor Charity

“I kept putting my arms out as if I was driving a car. It was very exciting!

“I’ve done fundraising activities for years now, ranging from holding dressage events to abseiling down Guy’s Hospital, running the Hyde Park 5K and the Pretty Mudder event.

“I’m motivated by the loss of a dear friend to brain cancer, my daughter’s friend who has a short life expectancy as a result of a brain tumour and another friend who has a benign brain tumour that’s affected their speech.”

To donate click here.

Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of people under 40 and survival rates have not improved over the last 40 years.

“I kept putting my arms out as if I was driving a car. It was very exciting!...”

Senior events officer at The Brain Tumour Charity, Beth Armitage said fundrasing is crucial to changing that.

She said: “We are inspired by Anne’s daredevil fundraising efforts and the money she’s raised will be crucial to our work.

“It’s through the efforts of people like Anne that we can change these shocking statistics in the future and bring hope to the 33 people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour every day.”

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