A nurse with a fear of heights is preparing to do a sky-dive to mark what would have been her son’s 30th birthday year.

Carol Buss, 61, will be joined in the hair-raising challenge by four colleagues from the Heart of Kent Hospice in Aylesford where she has worked for the past three years.

She lost her son James Fennings, a keen biker, after he was involved in a motorcycle race accident in Lydden in 2005. It had been his first competitive season.

She says she wanted to do something out of the ordinary to honour him and his zest for life.

She said: “I was going to have a memorial service for his 30th birthday but it didn’t seem right. He was an adrenaline junkie so I thought I needed to do something different. I think he would think it was crazy but it’s the kind of thing he would want to do.

“ I told my colleagues and a few of them offered to do it with me. I have a fear of heights so I don’t know what possessed me. I found going on the London Eye quite traumatic.

"I had to sit down and was having palpitations, thinking ‘I hate this’. I’m coping with it by not really thinking about it. I don’t even want to know how high the jump is.”

Mrs Buss and her colleagues will be using the sky-dive to raise money for the Heart of Kent Hospice inpatient unit, specifically to renovate the bathroom.

Those taking part are healthcare assistants Kelly Moore and Sharon Richards, student nurse Ashley Freeman, and senior registered nurse Christina Weatherley.

Mrs Buss, from Borough Green, said: “I had been hoping to raise £400 but I have already exceeded that. I’m overwhelmed by how generous people are. I’m just passionate about the job I do and the people I care for. This money could really help.”

The jump takes place at Headcorn Aerodrome on Wednesday. To donate click here.