Hampshire

Bus driver helps the heroes by jumping out of a plane

Sean Gibbs (44) from Southsea, a bus driver for First Hampshire & Dorset, has taken one almighty leap towards conquering his fear of heights…. by jumping out of a plane for charity.

Sean, who has lived and worked in Hampshire all his life, was inspired to do a charity skydive to raise funds for Help the Heroes as he wanted to do his bit to support the armed forces. A number of bus drivers from First Hampshire and Dorset are ex-service personnel, and while Sean hasnt been in the army himself, a member of his family is currently serving in Afghanistan.

His decision to jump out of a plane came after a conversation in passing with a member of the Red Devils display team at the D Day celebrations in Southsea. He signed up for a skydive, set himself a fundraising target of £600 and chose Help the Heroes to benefit.

Sean says: "The skydive was a real challenge, not least because I have a fear of heights, but I wanted to do something worthwhile for charity. The people in the armed forces do such a tremendous job I wanted to raise some money for injured personnel. The fear I faced jumping out of the plane is nothing in comparison to what those men and women deal with on a daily basis, helping them out seemed like the right thing to do.'

With the support of friends and colleagues and FirstGroups charity and sponsorship committee, who donated £200 to the cause, Sean has raised more than £1350 for the charity; more than double his original target.

Talking about the jump, which Sean completed at the end of September, Sean said: "It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Along with a couple of other people I took off in a little plane from NetherAvon airfield and, strapped to a Red Devils instructor, jumped out at 14,000ft. The view across Salisbury Plain was breathtaking, but Im not sure I could do it again. Seeing the ground rush towards you at 120mph is a very scary sight. Im delighted that Ive been able to raise such a decent amount for charity though. Id like to thank all my friends and family for their support and generosity over the past few months.'

Since it was established, the FirstGroup Charity and Sponsorship has handed out more than £80,000 to worthwhile local causes. Earlier this year it also match funded another First Hampshire and Dorset employee, Christine Bainbridge - the companys Operations Director, who was taking part in a 300km charity cycle ride around Jordan to raise funds for Women for Women, a charity set up to improve the health and well-being of women and babies. The FirstGroup Charity and Sponsorship committee support projects benefiting young people, health or the environment. For more information about the committee, or to download an application form, log onto: www.firstgroup.com/corporate/community

Anyone wishing to donate funds to Help the Heroes in respect of Seans charity skydive, can do so at: www.justgiving.com/seangibbs1.