A GROUP of teenagers are preparing for a sponsored parachute jump to raise money for a friend's gap year conservation trip.
Robert Simpson, 17, from Bedale, needs to raise between £9,000 and £11,000 to go on the 18-month trip that will see him work on conservation projects in Malawi, Australia and Brazil.
To raise money for the trip, he and 14 friends from Richmond School are to do a sponsored parachute jump.
They had been hoping to do it yesterday at the Peterlee Parachute Centre, near Durham, but the visibility was too poor and they are now aiming to jump at the weekend instead.
The planned jump has raised £1,543 in sponsor money, which means he has raised about £5,000 towards the trip so far.
Yesterday, he said a big thank-you to his friends, and staff members at Richmond School for their help, as well as to the instructors at the parachute centre and everybody who has sponsored them.
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