A UNIVERSITY student faced her fears to give back to the staff who have supported her dad in his battle against cancer.

Lori Freeborn, 20, decided to take on her fear of heights by jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet to raise money.

The decision to do the skydive came after her dad Dean Freeborn was diagnosed with a rare form of bowel cancer.

Mr Freeborn has undergone several treatments at Basingstoke hospital, in particular in the C2 ward, and Lori wanted to give back something to the ward which continually supports her dad.

She told The Gazette: “He [Mr Freeborn] has spent a lot of time there over the last two years, and with me being away for uni I haven’t been there as much as I would have liked.

“However, all the matrons, nurses and surgeons have made everything easier, even arranging accommodation for my mum so she can be with dad when he is having his treatment.”

On September 26, Lori and her best friend Hannah Bath took on the challenge of jumping out of a plane to raise money for the hospital ward.

Speaking of her experience Lori added: “Being petrified of heights when we got there I was feeling very panicked.

“I have always done fun runs and things like that for charity, so I thought I needed to do something bigger and push myself this time.

“The worst part of it was waiting around for three hours, seeing all these people going up in the plane and jumping out, but once I was finally in the plane I felt a bit better.

“Once I jumped it was incredible and it is one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had.”

The pair managed to raise £1,345 which will go towards providing new equipment, facilities and beds for the hospital.

To donate go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lori-freeborn.