A pensioner has raised vital funds for the day centre she uses by plummeting almost 200m to the ground.

Sue Gilbert, who volunteers at the Church Road centre for the elderly in Tenterden, described her jump from the top of the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand while on holiday as “the closest thing to be being a bird.”

“I loved it,” she added. “The feeling is like jumping off into nothing, like going off the top board when diving.

“My daughters, at the bottom, said they would never watch me again because they didn’t think I was going to stop.”

The 192m fall - 630ft - took just 11 seconds, with Sue being on a line that jump organisers used to slow her descent at the last moment.

For Sue, who has done the jump a few years before, it was a chance to raise money for the day centre through sponsorship, the total of which is still being counted.

Anyone wanting to contribute can contact the centre on 01580 761060.