Members of Mansfield Sandy Lane Slimming World group have got together to lose more than eight stones so they could do a charity skydive.

Slimming world consultant Cheryl Broughton had the idea to do a parachute jump to raise money for the charity she runs called Missing Piece- The Sudden Child Loss Charity which she set up when her 16-year-old son Lewis Crouch died following a collision on Peafield Lane, in February 2017, when he got hit by a car while on his moped.

The charity provides memory boxes to Mansfield and Nottingham hospitals, with items that could help in those first few days, such as two teddy bears – one of the family and one for the child – an ink pad to take a thumb print, a trinket box for a lock of hair and other keepsakes.

Mansfield Council to explore scrapping directly-elected mayor system 21 years on

Brave Slimming World members ready to jump out of a plane! (Photo by: Cheryl Broughton)

Cheryl said: “We also provide counselling within a week – I found I had to wait nine months after losing Lewis for help.

“I mentioned in the group that I was going to do a parachute jump and three others wanted to jump too – Sheryl Holmes, Ellie Duerden and Rosalyn Gombes.

“However, there is a weight restriction, so that's where the Slimming World plan came in. I have lost 3st 4lb and raised £980 for Missing Piece.

“Ellie lost 2st 8lb and raised £1,220 for Sands, while Sheryl lost 2st 2lb and raised £530 for the Guide Dogs. Rosalyn is a slim friend that wanted to jump and raised £1,002 for Breast Cancer Research – so we raised £3,733 between us and lost 8st 4lb.”

She said Ellie was unable to jump on the same day and did hers a couple of days later.