Daredevil Rik Noakes jumped 10,000ft from a plane to support the Gazette and Herald’s Help for Heroes appeal.

Mr Noakes, 43, of Stonelea Close, Chippenham, took on the challenge last Saturday and hopes to raise £500.

“It was absolutely awesome. I think I have found myself a new hobby,” he said.

“People were saying I was mad but I wasn’t scared. There was a real rush about not knowing what’s going to happen. I just went out there all guns blazing.

“You dangle on the edge of the aircraft for a few seconds and before you know it, you’re out. You get a funny sensation in your stomach and you’re travelling around 120mph, but you don’t really comprehend how fast you are going.

“We released the parachute at about 4,000ft so we were skydiving for around 6,000ft.”

Mr Noakes, an LGV driver for Wincanton, should have completed the drop at Redlands Airfield, near Swindon, with his wife of four years, Carol, who works for Gooseberry Bush Nursery at Azimghur Barracks, Colerne.

But 44-year-old Mrs Noakes was ruled out after a medical check. “I had a detached retina around ten years ago,” she said.

“The doctor said that if I did it I could risk losing my sight. I was devastated. It was the one time I had the courage to do something like this and then I couldn’t.”

Mr Noakes, who met his wife 16 years ago, added: “It was a massive shame that she couldn’t take part, but she has managed to find something else that she can do – wing walking. That will be the next challenge.”

Chippenham water management and plumbing firm Wavin was one of his sponsors.