A BLIND woman realised her dream yesterday when she flew a helicopter over Newcastle.

Susan Gibson, 56, won a competition run by Darlington Lions in The Northern Echo to celebrate World Sight Day.

Blind and partially sighted people in the area were asked to say what their dream would be and Darlington Lions chose to grant Mrs Gibson's wish to fly a helicopter.

Yesterday, Mrs Gibson and her guide dog, Tully, went to Newcastle International Airport with volunteers from the Lions.

They spent 45 minutes learning about the helicopters and were shown models of the different aircraft which fly from the airport.

Then it was Mrs Gibson's turn to get into a helicopter with a co-pilot, leaving Tully on the ground to watch her handiwork.

She said: "It was an amazing sensation. It was like floating and was so much quieter than I imagined.

"We followed the river through to the sea and then hovered over where my puppy walker lives as she said she would like to see me.

"Then I took over the controls and flew for a short time."

Strangely, Mrs Gibson thinks the fact she could not see helped to her keep calm and fly the helicopter.

She said: "I think it was to do with my yoga as it kept me calm. Also, I got along by using my senses and concentrating on the vibrations and tilt of the helicopter.

"I think if you can see you might just look at the horizon and panic, but I was able to concentrate on what was happening and it kept me calm."

Mrs Gibson, who was partially sighted from birth and is now registered blind, spent her childhood in Africa and, although she often flew in airplanes, she had always wanted to go in a helicopter.

Following her day at Newcastle Airport, Mrs Gibson was presented with a certificate to show she had completed the training course.

She said: "I want to go back for more lessons. We were up in the air for six minutes longer than we should have been. It was a great experience and definitely a dream come true."