A Comins Coch man has faced his fear of heights with a fund-raising skydive for Hywel Dda Health Charities to support the fight against the pandemic.

Gareth Whalley raised £1,446 for charity by doing a skydive, even though he’s terrified of heights.

The 26-year-old wanted to raise money for Bronglais Hospital and the maternity unit at Glangwili Hospital to say thank you to NHS staff who he says are “doing an incredible job during a very critical time”.

Gareth’s girlfriend is an NHS junior doctor and his mum is a nurse, so he knows the difference that health workers make during the fight against Covid.

He took part in the fundraising skydive for Hywel Dda Health Charities, the official NHS charity for Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

He admitted before the event that he would be “absolutely terrified”, but faced his fears to raise the cash.

After completing the skydive, Gareth, who works for the Royal Navy as an outdoor instructor at Brecon, said it was “amazing” and he would “definitely do it again”.

“The most memorable moment was the minute of freefall, it was the best feeling in the world,” Gareth said. “It was just incredible.”

Gareth’s mum Heather is a nurse at Hywel Dda who has worked in the NHS for over 40 years and acted as a co-ordinator the Covid immunisation programme in both Cardigan and Aberystwyth.

She said the whole family is “very proud of Gareth for the work that he is undertaking to raise money for the NHS”.

“He has taken himself out of his comfort zone by doing a skydive,” she said.

Alongside the skydive, Gareth also raised cash by holding a raffle, which saw him spend weeks sourcing prizes from across the three counties of Hywel Dda.

He admitted that the raffle “took more organising than the skydive”.

Gareth said he was very grateful to everyone who supported his fundraiser, including local businesses who donated raffle prizes.

“I’m relieved the skydive is done and I know the money will be put to good use,” Gareth said.

“I’m extremely grateful to all the local businesses for the unbelievably kind donations too, without them it wouldn’t have been possible.”