A DARING 84-year-old who abseiled from a North-East landmark building has raised £522 for her favourite charity.

Rena Allen, from Cotherstone, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, said she got money from friends before the daring descent from the roof of the Baltic tower, in Gateshead, but received a lot more after her photograph appeared in The Northern Echo.

"It was a lovely picture of me in action and it must have led to some kind people sending me more money," she said. "I'm really grateful."

Mrs Allen, who travelled to Gateshead with her husband, Bill, has sent the money to the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

She had wanted to do an abseil for years and decided to apply as soon as she saw details about the Baltic event in The Northern Echo.

"I loved every minute of the experience and wasn't at all frightened," she said.