OAP skydiver on honorary degree

Over 500 people have sky dived with Mr Wilkins over the last 10 years

A 78-year-old skydiver, who has helped raised more than £110,000 for Bristol Children's Hospital, is to receive an honorary Bristol University degree.

John Wilkins is one of four local heroes selected by the university to be honoured at the Wills Memorial Building on Wednesday, 15 July 2009.

On getting the accolade, Mr Wilkins admits he was "extremely surprised."

"It was quite an honour for me to have received this prize and I was over-the-moon when I heard about it."

Mr Wilkins has been raising money for various charities for decades.

"I used to do road running for cancer research in the 1980s but [then] I became redundant in 1992 and moved up to Clevedon.

"Then I heard about a new hospital being built, the children's hospital, so I approached them and I said I would like to do some skydiving and form a team.

"So I did in 1998, [I] formed the Wallace and Gromit Skydiving Team. The first team we had was seven people, and in August 1998 I completed three skydives in 24-hours."

He has since done dozens of skydives and and raised more than £100,000 for Bristol Children's Hospital - that target was raised, and then beaten, in 2008.

Jumping out of a plane is a feat that would leave even the bravest man, or woman, quaking in their boots. So how does the pensioner do it?

"[I'm] not really scared because I was an ex-Para Trooper in 1959, so I went through all the training and it just comes natural now-a-days.

"There's always a bit of anticipation when you get up in the plane, to make sure that the parachute opens, but it's no problem at all."

Age obviously means nothing to Mr Wilkins, but he says that there will be a time when he hangs up his parachute.

"I will carry on until I'm 80, [so] I've got two more years and then I may finish and pack it up.

"We also do, beside that [skydiving], white water rafting, the Bristol Half-Marathon, abseiling in London, and things like that."