Hospital sister Sally Weston had second thoughts about the ‘Bucket List’ she drew up to celebrate her 60^th birthday as she stared at the ground 13,000 feet beneath her.

But seconds later she was hurtling through the air at 120mph as she courageously launched herself from the plane into the tandem skydive she had signed up to do in the name of charity.

And Sally, who works in Endoscopy at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), saw her bravery rewarded by so far raising approximately £650 for the QEHB Charity.

She said: “I drew up the Bucket List when I first found out that there was a possibility of going on a long haul flight.”

That resulted in Sally going on a dream holiday to Australia in 2008. But her new-found sense of travel and excitement did not end there.

“After going to Australia I got the bug for flying,” she added. “So, I then decided to go to Canada with my brother and his family in 2010. The return journey was really something to remember – my brother gave me his upgrade so I travelled back to the UK First Class! The ONLY way to fly!”

But that was not the end of Sally’s exploits in the air.

She explained: “As my 60^th birthday approached I decided to mark it with something spectacular – a skydive!

“I don’t have any fear of trying something for the first time and will try anything once.

“The only time I thought ‘what am I doing?’ was when I was dangling out of the plane 13,000 feet up. A second later we were out and freefalling at 120 mph, with the sound of the wind rushing past very loudly.

“Once the main chute opened it became very quiet as we glided through the clouds before being able to see the vista below. I was even able to control the parachute for a while, which was great. The descent probably only took a few minutes, but they were an amazing few minutes.”

Added Sally: “As I’m only 4ft 11in and the instructor was 6ft something, I didn’t have to run along the ground when we landed, just lowered onto the ground on my backside.”

Sally, who performed her tandem skydive at Hinton Airfield, in Brackley, Northamptonshire, celebrated her 60^th birthday on February 3. Friends and colleagues had presented her with a bouquet of flowers and a card.

But she then became the ‘victim’ of a surprise party held at the Avenue Social Club in Weoley Castle on February 9, which involved many of her colleagues as well as members of her family from as far afield as Middlesex, Surrey, Exeter and Clacton.

She had been tricked into going by colleague Bill Tambie, who had invited Sally and her husband to dinner.

Sally is now planning her second ‘Bucket List’ of things she would like to achieve.

“I said that if I survived the skydive I would put together another list, so that is what I am now going to do, possibly starting with a scuba dive.”

Further donations can be made to QEHB Charity by logging on to Sally’s Just Giving webpage.

QEHB Charity funds equipment, research and training which is over and above that which the NHS provides and aims to make a difference to the lives of patients, visitors and staff at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB). To find out more please visit the QEHB Charity website.