A woman has raised £11,000 for a cancer charity after completing a 10,000ft skydive.

Sarah Lumley, of Putney’s Upper Richmond Road, decided to face her fear of heights when her friend and colleague Wendy Butler was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer.

The money, raised by Miss Lumley and six friends, was donated to Pancreatic Cancer Action, a national charity committed to raising awareness of the difficult to treat disease.

Pancreatic cancer is the fifth deadliest cancer in the UK.

Patients are given only a three per cent chance of surviving the first five years after diagnosis, and 22 people a day are killed by the disease.

Even though the cancer’s profile has been raised in recent times by the deaths of actor Patrick Swayze and Apple founder Steve Jobs, both of whom were victims of the disease, and despite its relative lethality, research into the cancer receives only one per cent of the total available funding.

Ali Stunt, a rare survivor of the disease, and head of Pancreatic Cancer Action said: “We are thrilled that Sarah and the team of seven RBS skydivers have managed to overcome their fears to support both Wendy and Pancreatic Cancer Action.”

To support Sarah or make a donation of your own, visit justgiving.com/high-flyers.