AN all-girl parachute team have waited two years to make their first jump and raise hundreds of pounds for cancer and children's charities.

Nicole Ward persuaded her aunt Alyson Bell and best friend Sarah Nevins to join her in the stunt but had to wait until she reached her 16th birthday recently before it could go ahead.

The two girls are interrupting their GCSE studies to perform their big leap at Peterlee Parachute Centre on Saturday.

Both girls are pupils at Wolsingham School and Community College.

Nicole and special needs tutor Alyson, who live in Wolsingham, are raising money for the Make a Wish Foundation, which arranges treats like holidays or meetings with celebrities for children who are terminally ill.

Sarah, 16, from North Bitchburn, is sending her sponsorship to Breast Cancer Care as a tribute to her mother Christine, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment.

Nicole said: "I have wanted to do this since I was 14 but I wasn't old enough. Now I can't wait. I am counting the days.

"Alyson and I chose the charity because we both love children and I want to work with them when I leave school."

The trio hope their efforts will raise at least £350 each.

Alyson, 38, will be doing a 10,000 feet tandem jump while the girls will have their parachutes opened for them when they leap 3,000 feet.