A daredevil 75-year-old has put herself through her paces with a 12,000 foot skydive to raise funds for a Southend charity.

Pat Denton, 75, has been an adrenaline junkie over the past decade - water rafting down the Grand Canyon in 2019, an indoor skydive in Singapore last year and doing a 192 metre base-jump earlier this year.

To mark 75 years, Pat decided to raise funds for Age Concern UK’s community hub by doing a tandem parachute jump from 12,000 feet in the air above Headcorn Airdrome on Monday May 6 to raise £7,500 for the charity.

Pat has worked in a charity shop for 20 years and has been an avid fundraiser after her retirement, kickstarted with an Essex ambassador role in 2012.

Now safely back on the ground after the exhilarating jump, Pat said it made “every sinew of her body feel alive”.

She said: “I was totally overwhelmed, listening to instructions, just falling to earth, wow.

“Every sinew of my body felt alive, talk about living in the moment.

“There was 30 minutes of freefall in total but the total amount on the way down was six minutes, it was over so quickly.”

“It was a gentle fall to earth, I could see the coast, all the farmland too, it was a marvellous sight and then it was over like a flash in the pan.

“Did that just happen? Did I just jump out of a plane at 12,000 feet? Yes I did.

“I was buzzing, I am so proud I have done this, especially for the Age Concern Community Hub.

“I feel indestructible, I can do anything now.”

The daredevil retiree has previously whetted her appetite for adrenaline with an indoor skydive in Singapore last year and a jump from the Auckland Sky Tower this year - both which made her more confident jumping with someone else.

Pat added: “£1,400 has been raised so far for my fundraiser, can we get it to £2000 please?

“I feel so humble, that so many people from around the world have donated to my just giving page, thank you so much everyone.”

You can donate to Pat’s fundraiser at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/pat-denton-1701779948811