WHEN it comes to showing their friendship, the sky's the limit for one group of shopping centre staff.

While many thought cleaner Winnie Midgley's plan to plunge 10,000ft from a plane was crazy, her colleagues at Middlesbrough's Cleveland Centre declared it heroic.

And, in the ultimate gesture of support, they offered to take part in the jump, at Peterlee's Shotton airfield on Sunday.

Their resolve stood firm even when Winnie, who planned to raise money for kidney research, was unable to continue.

Mrs Midgley, of Lambton Road, Stockton, said: "When I mentioned the jump, Tracy Crown, who is a cleaner, Gary Jackson and David Yeoman, who are both security guards, offered to do it with me.

"We all had to have a medical and I didn't find out until Thursday afternoon that I had failed mine, because I have a weak spine.

"I cried my eyes out when I heard, and when the others did their jumps I thought it should have been me."

Mrs Midgley, 50, had a special reason for wanting to take part, as her son, Jonathan, needs a kidney transplant.

His sister, Donna, has undergone tests to find out if she can be the donor.