A DAREDEVIL grandmother is set to take to the skies for a charity.

Inspiring 81-year-old, Nancy Rutherford, of Whitley Bay, will skydive for St Oswald’s Hospice in Gosforth, Newcastle, despite being terrified of heights.

The skydive will be held at Shotton Sky Diving Academy, near Peterlee, County Durham, on Sunday, April 6.

Mr Rutherford said: “I’m not scared, I’m looking forward to it in a macabre sort of way.

“It’s completely out of character for me to do something like this.

“I was laid in bed one night and was thinking about the things I hadn’t done yet. I took my inspiration from a 90-year-old man who went to Africa to skydive.”

Having worked at the hospice on and off for ten years and losing relatives to brain tumours and bowel cancer, the charity is close to Mrs Rutherford’s heart.

She said: “They are a fantastic charity and I’m proud to be supporting them.

“They are always available to provide a helping hand and when my husband took ill three years ago, they were a big help.”

Her late husband was a police officer.

Whitley Bay pub The Monkseaton Arms is also supporting Mrs Rutherford in her skydive and has teamed up with Cullercoats Brewery to provide a uniquely named ale called Supergran - with 10p from every sale going towards the cause.

So far the stunt has raised £835 and Mrs Rutherford is calling on all the support she can get to try and achieve her target of £1,500.

Anyone wishing to donate should visit: http://www.justgiving.com/NancyRutherford.