Daredevil pensioner from Ashington takes ‘amazing’ plunge

Suzanne Ruiz, from Ashington, experienced 45 seconds of freefall at 125 miles per hour, after she leapt from a plane cruising at 12,000 feet on Friday (September 20).

And Suzanne has raised about £2,000 for Brooke Animal Hospital, a charity based in London.

Asked where it ranked as a life experience, she said: “It is at the top, without a doubt.

“Apart from having a baby I think it has to be the most amazing thing I have ever done. It is totally different from anything else - it was just amazing.”

Suzanne decided to take the plunge when she saw a photograph of a woman about her age in an advert for skydiving.

She said: “Something made me do it - I don’t know what it was that spurred me on to do it but something took over.

“It was something I have never experienced in my life, and I am so glad I did it because it is like nothing else.”

The fearless pensioner explained how she was not nervous at all on Friday, until she saw the plane that she was to leap out of.

Despite her successful fundraising, Suzanne is still hoping to raise more money for the animal hospital.

She added: “It seemed a long time to reach 12,000 feet, I thought I was doing something stupid, but it all happened very quickly after that.

“I have to say I found the first few seconds a little frightening, but once you realise it is okay and you have somebody behind you, it was exhilarating.

“It is a really peculiar feeling to be up there, so far away and falling out of the sky.”