A duo from a Verwood care home have been skydiving to raise cash for charity.

Emilia Turner and Rachelle Phillips from Verwood House care home jumped out of a plane thousands of feet in the air – and all for a good cause. 
 
And the courageous pair have already raised £1,106 for the charity Refuge.
 
The charity is the largest specialist domestic abuse organisation in the UK and supports thousands of people including children, facing domestic violence. 

Rachelle said: “People have been incredibly generous, and we are thrilled to have had all the support and encouragement. Thank you to those who have donated to our appeal through our JustGiving page. 
 
“All of the donations will make a big different to people’s lives and it’s lovely to see such generosity.”
 
Emilia added: “Neither of us had done anything like this before but we wanted to find an exceptional way to raise this money for an incredible charity. 

“It was an amazing experience, and I cannot say I was not scared but the initial few seconds before the jump were nerve-racking.

“But Rachelle and I encouraged one another to make the jump.
 
“And of course, we were inspired by Refuge which is an excellent organisation and has been working for domestic violence victims since 1971. The work they do is sadly very necessary, but they are helping to rebuild lives every day.” 

 
The tandem skydive was at Old Sarum and was organised through Skyline Events. The pair underwent a days’ worth of training before jumping out of the aircraft in tandem with a qualified skydive instructor. 
 
Emilia added: “I feel very lucky to work at Verwood House with such lovely residents and staff, and after the skydive adventure, I will be very happy to keep my feet on the ground – at least for the time being!”

The daring pair have their JustGiving appeal open until August 26 and hope the donations will continue.