ON a cloudless April morning Joe Wych surveyed the spectacular blue skies around him, gazed briefly at the historic towers of Windsor Castle in the distance, took a deep breath and hurled himself 300ft towards the lake below.

It was, as the 15 year-old student later described the sensation of flinging himself from Britain’s highest bungee jump, “absolutely amazing.”

Plucky Joe, of Upper Minety, could have been forgiven for wearing a Spiderman outfit for the daredevil dive on Easter Monday when he raised just under £2,000 for charity.

But the life-long QPR fan had donned his beloved Rangers football shirt… which was just as well as shortly before his breath-taking leap of faith he received a good luck text from his hero, QPR striker Charlie Austin.

The ex-Swindon Town marksman, who has now become a Premier League star, had got wind of Joe’s jump and gave the lad a huge boost before the spectacular plunge.

Joe said: “Receiving a text from Charlie Austin was just fantastic. The whole experience was really great. As soon as the jump was over I thought ‘I wouldn’t mind doing that again.’”

Joe, a pupil at Malmesbury School, undertook the heart-stopping stunt to raise money for Cancer Research after his mum Susann was diagnosed with the disease.

He was eager to do something positive after having to watch his mum endure painful chemotherapy treatment, followed by the equally tough radiography, in her battle to beat breast cancer.

He wasn’t sure what he could do to raise money until his dad Chris, 46, came across the UK Bungee Club website that offers the chance to have a crack at the country’s highest jump of its kind.

After signing up five months ago, Joe set himself a target of £300. However, after both he and his sister Ella, 17, posted the event on their Facebook sites cash pledges began to roll in.

When he finally threw himself from the top of a crane in Berkshire on Monday he had received pledges for £1,925.

Around 20 friends and family, including relatives from London and Surrey gathered at Bray Park near Windsor to watch Joe being hoisted in a cage 300ft into air before he leapt almost twice the height of Nelson’s Column.

His proud, but at the time rather nervous mum, Mrs Wych, 50 recalled: “I said to him before he got into the cage that he didn’t have to go through with it. But he was determined. There was no way he was not going to jump.

“When he got to the very, very top, the cage opened and he didn’t hesitate – he launched himself off. It was absolutely brilliant – really superb.”

Several seconds later, Joe added to the occasion by giving everyone a laugh. Dangling upside down from the elasticated ropes attached his ankles while waiting to be released by the support team, he coolly adjusted his hair.

“I couldn’t believe it - he started fixing his hair. It was really funny,” said Mrs Wych.

“We’re really proud of him. He was easily the youngest person there who did the jump.”

Anyone wishing to donate can still do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/joe-wych