Widower John Slater has pledged to raise hundreds of pounds with a sponsored skydive to raise money in aid of Dorothy House Hospice, in memory of his late wife Lynn.

The former Army mechanic will take to the skies above Wanborough, near Swindon, on March 8 in a sponsored skydive alongside his daughter Becki Deacon, 38, who will be getting in an aeroplane for the first time.

They are taking on the challenge in memory of mother-of-three Lynn Slater, who died four years ago, to the day of the jump, from cervical cancer. She spent her last weeks at the hospice in Winsley.

“She was a very caring person,” said the 63-year-old forklift engineer, who lives in Parklands and who had been with his wife for 36 years. “She loved her job as a carer at Athelstan House and she loved our life when I was in the Army in Germany.”

Mrs Slater grew up in Sherston and has family in Swindon and Chippenham.

“I have done a couple of sponsored walks for Dorothy House before and I donate every month because they are self funding and they made Lynn so comfortable in her final days.

“I don’t think I can ever repay them,” said the grandfather of five.

Both Mr Slater and his daughter, a mother-of-four and also a carer at Athelstan House, have set themselves a target just short of £400 each and are nearly there.

So far, Mr Slater has raised £200 at work, £100 at a site he works on in Salisbury and about £60 from a sponsorship form at The Borough Arms, Oxford Street.

To donate, go online to www.doitforcharity.com/johnSlater