By James Taylor

Hundreds of dare devils took to the skies to take part in the Big Zip Challenge.

Jumping from a 250ft roof at the top of the Liverpool Royal University Hospital, more than 200 participants managed to raise over £23,000 for breast cancer care. The zip line was roughly 1,000ft long and those involved travelled nearly 30mph.
 
The event was organised by the NHS's Linda McCartney Centre and took place last Sunday.

Assistant Fundraiser for the centre, Angela McShane said: “We do an abseil every year, we've done skydives and we're just always looking for adrenaline fuelled activities that people love to do.”

Participants each raised a hundred pounds to take part in the event but there were others who managed to raise several hundred pounds.

Among the intrepid adventurers taking part was the Liverpool University Air Squadron (LUAS).

Daniel Smith from LUAS said: “My girlfriend’s mum was
treated here and I’ve seen her go through a lot and it’s good
to know that these guys have always been there to help out.
Knowing that I could get the squadron involved, because
they are always helping out local charities, just gave us an
even better chance to raise money.”

The Linda McCartney Centre have previously organised an
abseil down the hospital and are currently planning a
sponsored sky dive.

Shirley Scott a participant in the Big Zip said: “I just wanted
to do something for a good cause; I’ve already done the
abseil and decided that I’d like to do this too. I’m really
looking forward to doing the sky dive as well.”

Fundraising manager for the Linda McCartney Centre, Tom Southern said: “The “leap of faith” from the roof of a 250ft building takes incredible courage and trust.”

Both myself and JMU Journalism's Ayden Feeney took part. Ayden came along with his squad mates from LUAS and I took part out of a strange fascination for heights. We raised more than £100 each for the event.

Bemused onlookers craned their necks as my whooping figure flew past flailing like a man who has just realised 'extreme' is not in his repertoire. Perhaps I’m a tad more crazy than courageous. However it was an exhilarating experience and I would definitely take part again.