Knitting and making jam are not daredevil pensioner Joan Eder's cup of tea. So she's jumping off the South Downs for charity instead.

Joan, 78, had wanted to do a parachute jump but settled for paragliding after failing to find anyone to help her leap from a plane near her home in Angmering.

Mrs Eder, of Station Road, is now preparing for her sponsored paraglide which is due to take place - weather permitting - over the South Downs on Tuesday.

She hopes to raise money for the Uckfield-based Sussex Horse Rescue Trust, where she is a volunteer.

Mrs Eder said: "I have always wanted to do a parachute jump, it's something I think must be absolutely wonderful but I couldn't find anywhere in the area to do it.

"The paraglide was my idea. I'm not nervous about it at all. I don't mind heights and they obviously take every precaution. There will be someone up there with me the whole time.

"My husband John won't be coming to watch because he has to look after our three dogs but a friend is going to come along.

"When I tell my friends what I'm going to do they say I'm a nutcase. But people have been very generous.

"I am looking forward to getting a real bird's eye view of the Downs but the main reason I am doing it is to help out this wonderful charity which rescues horses who have been neglected or ill-treated.

"At the moment they have 72 horses and donkeys and about 200 on loan to good homes.

"I do a bit of knitting and jam-making too but only under pressure. I'm not very good at it. Something like this will hopefully raise more money."

Joe Taylor of Sussex Hang Gliding and Paragliding near Lewes, which will take Mrs Eder on her adventure, said increasing numbers of retired people were taking up the sport, although few were 78.

He said: "They like it because it offers a lot of exhilaration and fun.

"Mrs Eder is doing a dual flight, so she will be taken to the top of a hill and strapped into a harness attached to an instructor before running off. She will probably be soaring up there for about 30 or 40 minutes."