A teenager with kidney disease is to undertake a daredevil stunt to raise cash for a charity which helps other sufferers.

Fourteen-year-old Jonathan Bowman will be one of the youngest people to take part in the terrifying SCAD dive, which is a bit like a bungee jump - but without the rope.

The event, on October 22 at the Bradford and Bingley Social Club in Bingley, will see brave folk taken 150 feet up in a crane before they fall 90 feet into a net.

Jonathan, of Cleckheaton, has acquired a taste for active fundraisers, taking part in a 165-ft abseil at Baiting Reservoir earlier this year.

His kidney disease began when he was four, after a nursery farm trip left him infected with the virulent E Coli bug.

Mum Stephanie said he was extremely ill and had less than one per cent of normal kidney function, but his kidneys have recovered enough to allow him to be treated without dialysis.

"He could have had a damaged heart, brain or lungs. We consider ourselves very lucky," she said.

Jonathan, a pupil at Whitcliffe Mount School in Cleckheaton, has seen other people doing the SCAD jump, which lasts only three seconds.

His determination to have a normal life saw him attending an awards ceremony at the Millennium Dome last month as the regional winner of the National Kidney Research Fund's Local Heroes awards. He has to take medication three times a day and follow a strict diet, and regularly attends out-patient clinics at St James's Hospital, Leeds.

He likes cycling, and during the school holidays enjoys camping out with friends.

"The illness hasn't drastically stopped me doing anything or upset me," said Jonathan. "It hasn't altered the main part of my life."

The National Kidney Research Fund is the UK's leading charity funding research into kidney diseases and treatments.

lThe charity is looking for more people who would like to brave the SCAD dive in October. You must be aged at least 14 and in good health. Each free fall diver will be asked to raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship. To register, telephone the Scad Dive hotline on (01706) 839174.

Anyone who would like to sponsor Jonathan for his dive can contact Heather Eagle, the charity's area manager, on the same number.