A TEAM from Southmead Hospital will be jumping 10,000ft out of a plane this weekend to raise money for two worthy causes at the hospital.

Superintendent radiographer Nigel Bush, nurse Pooja Poddar, trainee accountant Joe Fews, and Ben Doidge, a trainee nurse, will all be taking part in the skydive for the Southmead Hospital Charity appeal.

They will also be joined by two mums who had babies treated in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

The group will fall through the air at 120 miles per hour for about 70 seconds before their parachute opens.

Nigel Bush, who has worked at North Bristol NHS Trust for 30 years, is doing the jump to raise money for the charity’s Prostate Cancer Care Appeal.

He said: “I’m terrified of heights and the thought of skydiving literally makes me feel sick. I don’t know how I’m going to get in the plane.

“But I thought that if I push myself beyond my comfort zone then people will sponsor me. 

“The Prostate Cancer Care Appeal is something I want to wholeheartedly support and raise plenty of money so this is going to be a huge challenge for me.”

Joining them in this sky-high challenge are Stacey Purnell and Amanda Oakey who are both raising money for Southmead Hospital Charity’s NICU fund.

Stacey, whose son Finley had emergency treatment at the NICU when he was born in November 2015, has already reached her £1,000 sponsorship target but wants to raise even more.

She said: “The NICU staff are phenomenal, what they do and the effort they put in takes your breath away.

“When you’re not there with your baby they’re the parents you can’t be, and for that I’ll be forever grateful.

“Finley’s stay in NICU was relatively short but it has affected us.  I’ll never forget it, and want to give something back so I’m really excited about the jump.”

Originally the group had planned to jump last weekend, but had to delay the feat until this week due to bad weather.

Amanda’s daughter Isabelle was born 16 weeks early at 24 weeks and weighted just one pound two ounces and spent four months in NICU.

She said: “The job these people do is just amazing, they didn’t just help Isabelle get better but helped us all as a family to get through this tough time - they became our family and I will be forever grateful.”