SIX brave work colleagues took to the skies last weekend to raise more than £3,000 for a local children’s charity.

Staff from Your Co-op stores in the Forest joined forces to raise money for Gloucestershire Young Carers by completing a sponsored skydive at Salisbury Airfield on Sunday (October 10).

The team, made up of Sally Taylor, Nicola Hoult, Jane Ambrey and Matt Berry from the Coleford store, Meg Skillern from the Cinderford Valley Road store and Jordan Davies from Brockworth, reached the heights of 13,500ft by plane before parachuting back to the ground.

The group were presented with certificates on landing for completing the skydive and have so far raised £3,263 between them for their chosen charity, beating their target of raising £400 per colleague taking part.

Gloucestershire Young Carers, which is the Forest of Dean Co-op community group’s charity partner, works with and for children and young people aged 8 to 24 who have caring responsibilities at home.

Sally Gillespie, development manager at the charity, said: "We are blown away by the generosity and braveness of The Midcounties Co-operative colleagues who got involved in the skydive, but also to those who have donated to the fundraiser too. The donations will go such a long way to helping all those that we work with, and we really are touched by the kindness everyone has shown."

Chris Chandler, regional community ambassador of The Midcounties Co-operative, added: "As a Society, we are committed to supporting young people, including groups like Gloucestershire Young Carers, who play such a vital role in the local community.

"We hope the funds raised are able to go a small way in helping them continue with what they do, especially with how difficult the past year has been for everyone."

To donate to the group’s cause, head to their JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fodskydive.