Hotel landlord Bill Fawdry had an unexpected partner for his latest fundraising challenge, when he raised hundreds of pounds for Help For Heroes.

The 46-year-old, who runs the Crown Hotel in Timbrell Street, Trowbridge, with his partner Carol Doble, had decided to do a 15,000ft sky dive with Jeff Conner, one of his regular customers.

He said: “We were just discussing what we could do in the pub and someone suggested a skydive.

“We did the March for Honour last year and we are strong supporters of the Poppy Appeal so we wanted to do something for Help For Heroes.”

He tackled the skydive at Dunkeswell airfield, near Honiton, Devon, last weekend with Victoria Lyon, 34, also of Timbrell Street, who stepped in when Mr Conner, her boyfriend, had to drop out after he injured his back.

Mr Fawdry said: “We raised £428 and I was very excited and nervous about the whole thing. It’s quite scary when you first jump out of the plane but then the adrenaline kicks in.

“I would have done it on my own but that wasn’t the plan. So when Jeff hurt his back Vicky jumped in straight away, she was keen to do it. To be honest I think she was a bit put out that she wasn’t doing it in the first place.

“She was really excited but a bit nervous as we were going up in the plane, like me. She absolutely loved it, she was buzzing when she got down, she had a big cheesy grin on her face.

“I’m glad I was not doing it on my own. I would definitely do it again, it’s a great confidence boost and makes you feel like you can do anything for a while.”

“I would like to thank all my regulars for supporting me in the charity events we have organised over the past couple of years.”