A MOTHER from Lydiard Millicent went to great heights to express her thanks to the hospital staff who helped save the life of her newborn baby.

Deborah Claridge, 46, of Downs View, completed a parachute jump from 12,000ft to raise money for the Special Care Baby Unit at Swindon's Great Western Hospital.

Staff at Swindon's former Princess Margaret Hospital helped her premature baby, Victoria, in April 1991.

It was touch and go whether the 2lb 9oz baby would survive when she was born 13 weeks early. But she did, and Mrs Claridge vowed then that one day she would say thank you properly.

Last month she leaped from a plane over the Duke of Gloucester Barracks airfield, in South Cerney, near Cirencester, and raised £930 in sponsorship.

Mrs Claridge visited the GWH's unit to hand over the cheque.

"I know it was nearly 13 years ago but I just had to find a way to say thank you and for me this was the best way," she said. "I had always wanted to do this and I'm a bit of a daredevil at heart.

"The best part was actually jumping from the plane. It was such a buzz.

"It was quite scary going back to the SCBU even though it's a different hospital. The babies are so tiny."

Mrs Claridge's husband, Martin, 45, and Victoria, now 12, watched the jump.

Victoria said: "I was glad to see her do it and land safely."

The money will go towards a syringe pump to infuse drugs into babies' blood vessels.