Courageous Rustington woman takes the plunge in memory of son

Alex Acteson, mother of Oliver Acteson – who tragically died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), in 2010, aged just five months – set up a charity in memory of her son after his death.

However, for the courageous mum, of Hobbs Way, and three of her friends, Scott Griffiths, Ben Parslow, and Kelly Goldsmith, fund-raising took a new time high, on Sunday, July 15, that has seen the quartet raise more than £1,500 for Olly’s Rainbow.

Alex said: “It was the scariest experience of my life. It took me about a day to stop shaking, I was literally screaming the whole way down.

“But I thought that I see all these people doing incredible things for charity that I couldn’t really sit back and not do something like that. The whole thing was absolutely terrifying.”

Alex said that the group had originally planned the jump to coincide with Olly’s birthday, at the end of May.

However, due to poor weather conditions, they were forced to postpone on numerous occasions.

“When we stood next to the plane I thought to myself ‘It’s not going to happen, it will get put off again’.

“So when they said it was time to get on I remember my legs just beginning to shake. It was so surreal,” admitted Alex.

The 32-year-old said that all the money would be used to help buy specially designed, angel care baby monitors, which alert automatically alerts parents of young babies when their child stops breathing. “Losing Olly was one of the most difficult experiences of my life,” she said. “It was horrible. It was something that you couldn’t predict would happen.

“But with these monitors, it could honestly mean the difference between life and death, especially for the young parents or those families who simply can’t afford them.”

Since starting the charity, in 2010, its following has boomed.

Alex said that the organisation’s Facebook page has been “liked” by more than 11,000 people from across the globe.

“We’ve had support from people in Australia and the US, which is fantastic. The more we can spread the word about SIDS, the better,” she said.

Alex still hopes to set up a special CPR course for parents, if she can get enough funding. To help support Olly’s Rainbow, visit www.ollyrainbow.co.uk