A DARING teenager is steeling himself to fly for the first time... so he then jump out for charity.

Scott Wilcox, 17, of Sugden Avenue, Wickford, is confronting his fear of heights to raise funds to pay for a trip to the Philippines to work on reef conservation.

He is hoping the jump will bring in more than £1,000 to fund his trip in August to work for a group called Coral Cay Conservation.

He plans to work with about 20 other young people on the reef project.

He said: "I'm pretty excited, but just a bit worried about actually going up in the plane and jumping out.

"Once I'm out of the plane, I'm sure it'll be fine, but I'm nervous about the build-up.

"It's going to be great though... I hope!"

Scott, a Year 12 pupil at Beauchamps School, Wickford, recently finished AS level exams in drama, biology, chemistry and psychology.

He will return to Beauchamps to continue his studies after his trip to the Pacific islands.

Scott said: "The charity works for the protection of the coral reef and an education co-ordinator came to our school to tell us about its work.

"It's a four-week conservation trip and we'll be there to help reduce the risks to the coral to help maintain the coral reefs themselves.

"Marine life has always fascinated me and so have coral reefs.

"I've always been interested in tropical fish and wildlife."

If you'd like to sponsor Scott, you can e-mail him at scott_the_ledge@hotmail.co.uk