A BEWDLEY grandfather hopes a leap into the unknown will raise £2,750 for a charity caring for children with life-limiting illnesses.

Bob Eaton, 66, recently made a tandem parachute jump in memory of his son, David, who died in a car crash in 1999.

With £2,250 in sponsorship already banked from the jump - at Tilstock Parachute Centre at Whitchurch in Shropshire - Bob hopes to collect a further £500, with all the cash raised going to the new Acorns Children's Hospice in Worcester.

To date, Bob, of Yew Tree Lane, and his family have raised £14,000 for charity to commemorate David.

Describing the jump, made from a height of two miles, Bob said: "We jumped through the clouds - that was amazing," adding: "It was a fantastic experience."

He went on: "I must admit, I would like to do it again.

"It was like an out-of-body experience."

Among the onlookers as Bob made the jump was his grandson, Matt Nock, together with other family members and friends.

Bob hopes to take his fund raising total for Acorns to £4,000 - the equivalent of a day's running costs there.

Acorns, which recently opened its doors in Worcester, looks after children not expected to live into adulthood and offers physical and emotional support to the young patients and their families.