A Tayside woman has faced her fears and jumped from a plane in tribute to a terminally-ill friend who died before he could fulfil his dreams.
Denis Mellor, from Montrose, had been due to skydive over Perthshire on August 17 but was too ill to realise an ambition he had harboured since his days in the RAF.
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he was only sanctioned to make the drop from Errol Airfield because drugs were having no effect on his prognosis.
Staff at Montrose Day Care Centre, which was to benefit from the feat, were devastated by the pensioner’s death and manager Irene Mitchell bravely decided to take Denis’ place.
And she believes Denis was “there with her” as her ‘chute opened over Perthshire on Sunday.
“Once the parachute opened it felt a lot better. It was nice but once my feet touched the ground it felt a lot better,” she said.
“But I did it and I did it for Denis.
“For the first time in three weeks my stomach has finally stopped churning I’ve got a bottle of champagne waiting for me in the fridge.
“The instructor was very nice and he knew how nervous I was.”
Last month The Courier revealed how Denis had been given the go-ahead to skydive, having previously been banned from it by specialists because he was being treated with the drug Warfarin.
Visit www.justgiving.com/montrosedaycare to donate to Irene’s efforts.