A wheelchair-bound Kingston woman put a string of near-disasters behind her last weekend by making a 12,000ft parachute jump for charity.

Angela Devoy was left devastated just hours before Saturday’s jump after it emerged Kingston Centre for Independent Living (KCIL), which organised the jump, had not informed the airfield of her disability.

Despite coming close to throwing in the towel, Miss Devoy, who suffers from a crumbling spine and a host of other bone disorders, relocated to a suitable airfield in Cirencester - almost 150 miles from where her original jump was to take place.

The 44-year-old’s plans had already been thrown into turmoil after KCIL pulled its support for the jump with one week to go, telling Miss Devoy in a letter they had “just found out” their insurers did not cover “extreme sports”.

Miss Devoy said: “I’ve been quite emotional over the last week because it’s just been one thing after another, and when I was told I couldn’t jump I was almost prepared to give it all up.

“But then I thought to myself ‘no, I’ve come this far’, and decided to find another place to jump even if it meant going all the way to Cornwall.”

Miss Devoy, who lives alone with her rescue dog Milly, was so furious with KCIL pulling out of the jump she decided to donate the £450 raised to Battersea Dogs’ Home instead.

The Park Road resident said she was delighted at being able to make the jump, describing the first few hundred feet of freefall as “like being in a tumble dryer”.

KCIL were repeatedly contacted for comment but have so far been unavailable.