A MOTHER from Chipping Sodbury has flown like a bird to raise money for her disabled son.

Heidi Hennighan stepped out on to the wing of a plane and flew thousands of feet in the air around the Essex countryside with nothing but a harness for safety.

Mrs Hennighan, 46, was raising money to buy much-needed equipment for her 16-year-old son Thomas Parry, who has life-limiting cerebral palsy and suffers from epilepsy and profound hearing loss.

She said wing walking was an ‘amazing’ experience.

“It was fantastic, I would definitely do it again if I could and would recommend people do it,” she said.

“It was just such an amazing experience, it was literally like you were flying without anything. You could breathe normally, not like freefalling, and it was so warm up there. The pilot said it was the perfect day for it.”

A self-confessed thrillseeker, Mrs Hennighan, who has previously completed a parachute jump in aid of her son, said she had been nervous.

“There were two other people doing it but I went first as I was nervous and just wanted to get on with it,” she said.

“I could see my family down below and they could see me waving at them.

“It was definitely worth doing. It was so peaceful and relaxing up there.”

Mrs Hennighan, who lives in Bowling Road with Thomas and her husband Adrian, is on target to raise £15,000 for an eye gaze communication system, similar to that which Sir Stephen Hawking uses, which Thomas could use to play games and communicate his wishes and a special day bed which could be used for Thomas’ daily physiotherapy.

She has received help from Chipping Sodbury Lions Club and Chipping Sodbury Baptist Church, where she and Thomas attend Sunday services, held a fun day which raised £2,000. Through those donations and her sponsored wing walk, she has so far raised more than £7,500.

Go to crowdfunding.justgiving.com/thomas-parry to make a donation.