TWO daring youngsters – one who was afraid of heights - are on cloud nine after jumping out of a plane for a good cause.Aaron Carty, 19, of Kipling Road, who was afraid of even climbing a ladder, took part in the skydive with friend Claire Scott, 20, of Tuddenham Road, Ipswich.

TWO daring youngsters - one who was afraid of heights - are on cloud nine after jumping out of a plane for a good cause.

Aaron Carty, 19, of Kipling Road, who was afraid of even climbing a ladder, took part in the skydive with friend Claire Scott, 20, of Tuddenham Road, Ipswich.

They raised around £600 for the Ipswich Blind Society.

Aaron said: "I had a real fear of heights and I couldn't even climb ladders. I used to get a horrible feeling in my stomach that I would fall down and it was worse when I could see the ground.

"I wanted to do the skydive to prove to myself I could do it and to cure my fear of heights.

"We also wanted to do something different to raise money. If we did something small, people would not be as willing to sponsor us."

The pair did the parachute jump at the Old Buckingham Airfield in Attleborough, Norfolk on July 11 - but only after a nerve-wracking wait for the weather to clear.

Aaron said: "We were getting more and more nervous because we had such a long time to think about it! When we finally got in the plane, it took around 20 minutes to reach 10,000ft. I had to jump first. "We were just told to sit and wait and they would tell us when to go - but they pushed us. I would have had second thoughts if I had had to jump.

"On the way down, I gritted my teeth as hard as I could so didn't scream. But as we were doing it for a good cause, it made it worth doing."

Aaron would now jump at the chance to do it again.

He said: "I would do it tomorrow. I don't have a fear of heights anymore!"

Paul Finnerty, voluntary fundraiser for Ipswich Blind Society, which supports around 600 blind and visually impaired people in Ipswich, said: "It is absolutely brilliant they have done it. A lot of people ring up for details of what they can do, but we don't hear anything further."

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