A BOURNEMOUTH man who climbed to Everest Base Camp at the age of 74 is now preparing to skydive at 80.

Gordon Lewis, from Westbourne, is one of six people who have agreed to jump from 15,000 feet for the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation (DCCF).

He will take on the challenge at Old Sarum Park in Salisbury on October 5.

The retired mental health manager explained: “My friends and family call me a daredevil, but I just enjoy doing exciting things and I’m very much looking forward to my latest skydive, particularly the freefall.”

Gordon is no stranger to danger; he has climbed perilous rock faces all over the UK, completed two skydives, abseiled down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth and climbed Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa’s Atlas Mountains.

He was 74 when he achieved his lifelong dream to climb to Everest Base Camp.

Gordon pictured at Everest Base Camp when he was 74Gordon pictured at Everest Base Camp when he was 74 (Image: Debbie Granville PR)

Gordon said: “I do all my challenges for charity.

“When I heard about the work of the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation through friends, I admired the way it helps Dorset people who are struggling financially because of cancer.

“All of us have been touched by cancer in some way during our lives. My mother died of oesophageal cancer, so I have seen the terrible effects it has on people and their families.

“When I found out that the charity was asking people to raise money through a skydive, I thought: “Well, it is about time I did another.”

Gordon is a member of the Rotary Club of Westbourne and says his fellow members have been generous with their sponsorship.

He has already surpassed his required £400 target and would like to reach £600.

Gordon added: “My adult grandsons Zach and Liam are pretty impressed when I tell them what I’m up to. Zach in particular was a little jealous of this skydive and would have joined me, but he is in the Navy and will be away.

“I will just have to come up with something equally exciting to do with him next time he is home on leave.”

Jannine Loveys, fundraising manager for the DCCF said: “What can we say about Gordon except, wow. He is doing things at the age of 80 which most people shy away from at half his age.

“Gordon and his fellow skydivers Fiona Wager, Denise Rogerson, Paul Du Lieu and siblings Gemma and Craig Hamblin have our utmost respect and admiration.

"All the money they raise through their skydive will go to local families who are facing the added stress of financial pressure, on top of a cancer diagnosis.”