NHS staff and supporters jumped out of a plane above Bridlington to raise almost £8,000 for the Bradford Hospitals' Charity.

The 11 people – made up of Bradford Teaching Hospitals staff, former patients and local businesses – took part in the charity skydive.

The group were raising money for a range of appeals.

The group were raising money for a range of appeals, including:

• Rays a Smile Appeal, which is raising £250,000 to make radiology services more child-friendly.

More information can be found at bradfordhospitalscharity.org/rays-a-smile/

• Bradford’s BIG Neonatal Appeal, which is raising £500,000 to build more family accommodation next to the Neonatal Unit and refurbish current family facilities.

Read more at bradfordhospitalscharity.org/big-neonatal-appeal/

• Refurbishment of waiting areas at the Oncology and Haematology Day Case Unit.

• The charity’s Sunshine Fund, which pays for a range of projects and equipment across Bradford’s hospitals.

Newly-qualified nurse Jessica Smith celebrated the end of her nursing training with the skydive. She was joined by her friend, Lydia Horsman.

Jessica said: “We had a brilliant day. Lydia and I would definitely do it again. We managed to reach our targets for fundraising too, thanks to generous family, friends and colleagues. We hope the money raised will benefit patients and their relatives who are being treated at the BRI.”

Laura Jones, head of clinical information systems, jumped to raise money for cancer services. She described the day as “amazing" and said: “It was the best experience and nothing can prepare you for it. It is slightly terrifying at that moment you are hanging out of a plane just waiting to jump! I’m so proud of the whole team and the funds we have raised so far to support our patients.”

Atique Hussain, diagnostic radiographer, who was raising money for the Rays a Smile Appeal, said: “It was an amazing experience and I would do it 100 times over from even higher.”

Radiographer Lucy Sagar said: “We all survived the jump and all-in-all was a great day."

Staff from David Hill Surveyors and Bowman Riley, both in Skipton, took part to raise money for Bradford’s BIG Neonatal Appeal.

They chose to raise money for the Neonatal Unit as a thank you to staff who cared for Sarah and Mark Hayton’s baby boy, Jack, who sadly passed away last year after being born very poorly. Sarah, who works for David Hill, took part in the skydive. Mark works for Bowman Riley, which chose Bradford Hospitals’ Charity’s neonatal fund as its charity of the year.

Hayley Collis, head of fundraising for Bradford Hospitals' Charity, said: “Thank you so much to all our daredevils for taking part in our first ever charity skydive. Everyone had a truly amazing experience and we have raised enough to make significant progress with all our appeals.

“If you would like to make a donation to our charity, please do get in touch or visit our website. We pay for over and above what the NHS can provide; helping people when they are most in need.”

To find out more about Bradford Hospitals Charity and how you can support your local hospitals, visit bradfordhospitalscharity.org.

Alternatively, contact Hayley Collis or Elaine Drake on 01274 274809 or email charity@bthft.nhs.uk