A BRAVE woman from Coaley took on a skydive for charity in honour of her three nieces, who are all affected by heart problems.

Gemma Hitchcock, 34, jumped from 13,500 feet – together with her friend Laura Phillips - to complete the challenge and raise £1,760 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

She was inspired to take on the daredevil feat by her three nieces who were all born with heart conditions.

The youngest, Alice, was born in April this year with atrioventricular septal defect, a condition where valves in the heart have not formed properly, preventing oxygenated blood being pumped round the body.

Alice will need to have open heart surgery in the next few months to correct the fault.

Gemma said: “It’s heart-breaking to see someone so young struggle with such a serious condition. Most people think of heart problems as something that affects older people, but they can also affect people from the day they are born."

Congenital heart disease is a condition or defect that develops in the womb before a baby is born. In the UK, heart defects are diagnosed in one in 180 births – that’s around 4,000 each year or 12 babies each day – with more diagnoses later in life.

In the 1960s, the majority of babies born in the UK with a heart defect did not survive to their first birthday. Today, thanks to scientific advances, around 8 of 10 survive to adulthood.

With her feet firmly back on the ground, Gemma said: “The jump was brilliant. The freefall happens so fast and then the views are incredible. It’s amazing how much of the world you can see from 10,000 feet. I would recommend it to anyone. It’s one of the best experiences you can have in your life.

“I’m really pleased to have raised so much money for the BHF. I just wanted to give something back. All my nieces have benefited from the research that they have funded. If it wasn’t for that work, the life-saving treatments they’ve had wouldn’t have been available.”

The BHF relies entirely on the generosity of its fundraisers to finance ground-breaking discoveries and identify new treatments that could help save lives and protect families from the devastating effects of heart disease.

Sarah Standing, fundraising manager at the BHF, said: “We are so grateful to Gemma and Laura for taking on this challenge and raising such an incredible amount of money.

“Skydiving is a fantastic way to do something unforgettable to raise vital funds to help the BHF continue its life saving research. Join our fight for every heartbeat, by signing up to take the plunge and become a Heart Flyer.”

Sign up to become a Heart Flyer by visiting bhf.org.uk/skydive