92-year-old jumps over Cumbria

John Hitchmough is now the oldest person to sky-dive at Flookburgh

A 92-year-old World War II veteran has become the oldest person to sky-dive at a Cumbrian airfield.

John Hitchmough, from Halewood in Merseyside jumped out of a plane from Cark Airfield near Grange-over-Sands on Saturday, 19 March 2011.

It was his first parachute jump - 71 years after he joined the RAF.

John was raising money for the RAF Association (RAFA), which looks after RAF welfare.

Great thrill

He took up cart-racing at the age of 80 and had thought that would be his biggest ever thrill.

But then he decided to try his hand at tandem skydiving - jumping strapped on below an instructor - over Cumbria.

Speaking after the 14,000 ft jump John told BBC Radio Cumbria's Mike Parr Breakfast Show: "it was a great thrill."

He said: "you're free-falling for 8,000 ft at a speed of 121 mph and then after that the shoot opens and everything is calm and serene."

Blowing off the cobwebs

"It really blows off the cobwebs and gives you a tremendous feeling of well-being," he added.

John also had another reason for taking on the challenge - as well for the thrill and excitement, he was raising money for a good cause.

All his sponsorship money will go to the RAF Association, which supports former and serving RAF personnel and their families.

The cause is close to John's heart - he joined the RAF in 1939 and spent time serving in Sierra Leone and Cape Town.