TWO of the University of Chester's leaders took their fundraising plan of defying gravity far when they tackled a charity challenge as part of the institution's 175th anniversary.

Senior pro-vice-chancellor and provost of the Warrington Campus Professor Peter Harrop and chief financial officer Bill Stothart travelled at speeds nearing 100 mph on the Big Zipper - a huge zip wire.

They tackled the mile long zip line, which is the longest and fastest in Europe, at Zip World Velocity at Bethesda, Gwynedd in North Wales as part of efforts to get staff and students to raise money for the landmark milestone in the university's history.

Bill said: “I’ve always liked the adrenalin rush of things like this, so when Peter mentioned the zip wire, in connection with raising money for charity in the university’s 175 anniversary year, I said I would do it straight away.

“It was great, and very fast

“I’ve been raising money for Cancer Research UK, along with my brother and two sons, for the last 10 years. Like a lot of people, cancer has affected many in our family: my sister, mother, aunt and cousin who all lost their lives to the disease, and others who have survived. So I know it is a great cause and Cancer Research UK and others are making progress and making a difference.”

Peter added: “I first heard about the zip wire from honorary university graduate Beth Tweddle, who had also undertaken the challenge for a charitable cause. It was great - travelling at over 80 mph 500 feet above a quarry lake is the nearest I’ll get to being Superman. It’s certainly faster than my usual hill walking in Snowdonia.

“Families United Warrington came to my attention via the Warrington Charitable Trust and the Warrington Wolves Foundation. This is a local charity doing outstanding work without the benefit of large scale campaigns.”

To donate to them both visit justgiving.com/Bill-Stothart-DefyGravity or justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/DefyGravityPeter.