Group hoping to raise £17.5k in honour of killed paratrooper

A team of residents in Worcestershire are hoping to raise £17,500 for soldiers in a sponsored parachute jump.

The group are taking the daring leap in honour of Lance Corporal Dale Hopkins, who was killed in Afghanistan when the vehicle he was in was hit by explosives.

Shane Bonehill is leading the jump alongside 24 of Dale’s friends and family members, who have raised more than £15,500 so far.

The group have now increased their target to £17,500, with the proceeds going to the Afghanistan Trust.

Emma Gorton, Dale’s sister, who is taking the leap, told the Bromsgrove Advertiser: "The jump will take place on the six-month anniversary of his death."

She added that the soldier loved being a paratrooper and so the act will help them to feel closer to Dale.

They are not the only people doing their bit for the cause, as two pub owners in Baildon have started a second year of fundraising in memory of local soldier, Sapper Jordan Rossi, 22, who died in Afghanistan.

Posted by Samantha Thompson