Crowthorne and Sandhurst

A Sandhurst police officer who is afraid of heights will be taking part in a parachute jump for the first time to raise money for charity.

PC Justin Barton, neighbourhood officer for Owlsmoor and Sandhurst College Town, plans to complete a tandem sky dive on Saturday 9 August at the Netheravon Airfield near Salisbury, Wiltshire. He is seeking sponsorship in order to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where a friend is currently receiving treatment for cancer.

Justin said: “The jump is only five weeks away and I need to raise as much awareness as possible. To make things worse, I really hate heights, so it’s a bit of a challenge. The jump starts at about 12,500ft in the air and we freefall for about 45 seconds before the parachute is deployed. The closer it’s getting, the more nervous I am!

“As this is the first – and probably the last – time I’ll do a thing like this, the jump will be filmed in the air by another sky diver.”

If you would like to sponsor Justin, there is a web page where people can donate on line, which is www.justgiving.com/i-hate-heights or alternatively, there will be sponsorship forms available to sign at Crowthorne police station, the Sandhurst police point and Bracknell police station.

Thames Valley Police ~ Sandhurst