OLYMPIC athlete Chris Tomlinson has leapt to the aid of a cash-strapped hospice.

Long-jump finalist Tomlinson, 23, from Middlesbrough, has agreed to help launch a money-raising zip slide for the Teesside Hospice this summer. The giant slide, made up of a rope and pulleys, will be suspended from the top of Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge.

Teesside Hospice Care Foundation has teamed up with Keswick Climbing Wall to bring the slide to Teesside. The hospice is looking for up to 400 volunteers to take part.