MEET the family who reached for the skies to mark a Great Sankey man's 50th birthday and raised cash for charity in the process.

Wife Carol Riley, of Edward Road, said she was stuck what to get for her husband Ian to mark the milestone occasion before inspiration parachuted in.

Ian added: "The sky dive was a complete surprise when Carol got it for me as a birthday present as it was something I had never mentioned before.

"But when my son Liam heard about it he said he wanted to do it with me.

"I wasn't sure about doing it at first but once we had decided to do it for charity it felt like there were some good benefits to come out of it."

The Royal Mail employee chose their charity of the year Whizz-kidz, which supports disabled children, with the company promising to match his fundraising to donate to the cause.

So far Ian and his 19-year-old son Liam have raised £375 which has now been doubled to £750.

He added: "I was thinking about what could go wrong beforehand and was a little bit nervous on the plane.

"But it was awesome and I really enjoyed it.

"The feeling was incredible falling to the earth at 120mph and I was made up Carol had bought it for us.

"She told me not to do the same thing for her birthday so I've got two years now to get my revenge!"