Skydive makes Sense

A Daring deaf woman who took part in a charity skydive said she regretted her decision the moment she jumped out of the plane. Sophie Goddard took the 13,000ft leap to raise money for the national deaf-blind charity Sense.

But, despite being terrified when she first jumped in tandem with other brave fund-raisers, the Derby student said she would do the same thing again. Speaking of the moment she took the plunge at Nottingham Airport, in Tollerton, the 21-year-old said: "I thought, 'I must be mad to be doing something like this'.

"I just had to keep in mind the important things that the instructor had told me about as it could have meant the difference between life and death."

Miss Goddard, of Gerard Street, Derby, was born profoundly deaf and has faced many challenges in her life. But the University of Derby student said that being in free fall for 10,000ft, before pulling her chute and floating to earth, was her biggest challenge yet. Miss Goddard, who is studying for a BA degree in textiles, said: "It was so high up and I felt like I was in the air for ages.

"I found it a bit hard to breathe because of the force of the air pressure, but I was smiling throughout the entire thing." Her sponsored efforts raised £800 for Sense. She decided to support the charity because she was inspired by the courage of people who were both blind and deaf and who tried to lead as normal a life as possible.

She also said that doing the jump was another way of refusing to allow her disability from stopping her from achieving her dreams. She added: "I've met a few people who are deaf and blind and having both conditions must be so much harder than the problems I face. "In retrospect, I really enjoyed my sky jump and would love to do it again.It was scary but I loved the excitement.Hopefully, when I do it again, it will be somewhere more exotic - maybe New Zealand or Australia."

A spokeswoman for Sense said: "We'd like to say a huge thanks to Sophie.

"This exhilarating activity is only for the brave-hearted and Sophie's hearing impairment would have made the experience even more of a challenge for her. Sophie's support, and that of other individuals who fund-raise for Sense, makes a real difference in enabling us to help deaf-blind people across the UK to lead full and happy lives."

To find out how you can get involved in fund-raising for Sense call 0845 1270 063 or visit www.senseevents.co.uk .