STAFF at a retirement home set their sights sky high and raised more than £500 for a local hospice.

The Hawthorns, on Meadow Park in Braintree, took part in Farleigh Hospice's £50 challenge, where the aim was to turn a crisp £50 note into as much money as possible over a two month period.

For their first fundraising adventure, deputy manager Steve Gould and head of housekeeping Rob Ball signed up to a sponsored skydive in Beccles, Suffolk.

The duo fell more than 13,000 as part of a tandem jump, freefalling for 45 seconds.

Mr Gould said: “The experience was amazing, it was a real adrenaline rush and something which had been on my bucket list for some time.

"I am really pleased the Farleigh Hospice Challenge forced my hand to actually do it.

"Knowing we were raising money for such a good cause made the experience even more worthwhile.”

The retirement home also hosted a bring and buy sale to draw in extra funds for the hospice and in total they raised £517.49, more than ten times the initial amount.

A cheque was presented to the charity on September 20 at a special dinner in Chelmsford at Hylands House.

Paul Tripney, general manager at The Hawthorns, said: “Supporting local charities is not only very important to us at a management level, but is also something our residents get involved with too.

"We discuss regularly the initiatives and charities that are important to them, and they will often come to us with new and creative ideas to consider.

"On 26th November we will be hosting a Christmas Fayre which will see lots of charities and organisations come together under one roof, to sell arts & crafts, gifts and cards all ready for Christmas.

"We’ll be discussing with our residents who they’d like to invite to be part of this event and I have no doubt that charities such as Farleigh will be high on the list.”

For more information about upcoming events at the Hawthorns contact 01376 335500.