Skydive for skin disease sufferer

Hon suffered severe facial blistering and scarring during his childhood

A man who suffers from a rare and painful skin condition is to complete a skydive to raise money for the charity that has supported him all his life.

Hon W Wong, 26, from Birmingham, has Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), where the skin blisters and breaks when touched.

Hon, also wheelchair-bound, will jump at Headcorn Parachute Club, in Kent, on Saturday in aid of charity DebRA.

"There was a time when I was sick and tired of living just to die, but now I want to live while I'm alive," he said.

Hon suffers from the non-fatal form of Junctional EB, but suffered severe facial blistering and scarring during his childhood years.

However, despite having to take a lot of time off school, he excelled in his studies, and went on to complete a BSc degree in Business Information Technology at university.

Since early 2004 he has been working for DebRA with their IT support team and is currently doing volunteer and fundraising work for the charity.

There are 5,000 people living with EB in the UK, with around 500,000 worldwide.