A TEN thousand foot drop awaited two Chippenham Pit Stop employees earlier this month after they jumped out of a plane to raise money for a local school.

General manager Neal Walford and general assistant Ali Waller took the leap of faith at Swindon Airfield the start of the month and have since raised more than £1,500 for St Nicholas School.

"It was an exhilarating experience," Mr Walford, who had to lose two and a half stone in order to qualify for the tandem jump, said. "There are always nerves when you do these sort of things - especially when you're 10,000ft in in the air - but I really enjoyed it and I wished I had done it years ago.

"We made a pact with St Nicholas School at the start of the year and I was wondering how we were going to raise the money and Ali said she had always fancied doing a skydive so I decided to join her.

"I had to lose a bit of weight to do the jump, which was a bit touch and go, but I did and I am pleased to say I have lost another four pounds since then. Sometimes all you need is a good kick up the backside to get things started but I am really happy that I decided to do it."

The fundraiser was the latest in a series of events organised by the popular truckers stop in support for the school.