A HARDY Parkinson’s sufferer flung himself from a plane to raise thousands of pounds to fight the disease.

Steve Brennan has completed his second sky dive since he was told he had Parkinson’s in 2013.

The diagnosis left him devastated, having witnessed his own mother struggle and deteriorate in the late stages of the illness.

But refusing to take the diagnosis lying down, Steve decided to raise £10,000 with the help of family, friends and work colleagues to help others living with the disease.

Together with supportive work colleagues David Kay and Jess Sippets, Steve, who works for Rentokil Initial, tackled the parachute jump in Chelmsford on June 25.

He said: “It is an absolutely amazing experience.

“The jump is a pure adrenaline rush, of course you are nervous when your legs are dangling in the open air, but it’s a fantastic feeling.

“The instructor calms you down and before you know it, you’re hanging out of a plane ready to fall 30,000ft.

Steve, of Burr Close, Ramsey, has now smashed his fundraising target and is already looking ahead to the next challenge.

A charity disco at the Royal Oak, in Main Road, Dovercourt, next Friday, July 15, will raise further funds.

Tickets from the pub cost £5.

Then Steve, 45, will look ahead to another hair-raising challenge, taking a zip line from the top of the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle into a boat on the river below.

Steve added the time for dwelling on his illness is well and truly over.

He said: “I have done my upset bit and I’ve moved on.

"I’m now into the stage of doing what I can while I’m still fit and healthy. ”