NURSES were among the brave people who abseiled from 450ft up to raise money for a children’s hospital charity.

The iDrop abseil at the i360 in Brighton on Saturday morning was the first fundraising event organised by Rockinghorse Children’s Charity since March.

More than £13,000 was raised for the charity, which is the official fundraising arm at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and a vital supporter of the neighbouring Trevor Mann Baby Unit.

Twelve of the abseilers were nurses who work at the children’s hospital, including Laura Jack, who raised £1,500 and was the first to be lowered.

She said: “Working at the High Dependency Unit you see exactly how much equipment Rockinghorse has provided us with and I wanted to support their work. It was a great experience, a bit nerve-wracking but it was amazing – I felt like Mary Poppins coming down.”

Another fundraiser taking the plunge was Mike Gartside, whose five-year-old son Theo was treated at the children’s hospital two years ago.

He said: “Theo was really poorly and in the HDU at the Alex on the C-Pap machines donated by Rockinghorse. If it wasn’t for their work, he would have had to go to a hospital much further away to get treated. It’s a great cause.”

Rockinghorse has another iDrop planned for October 15. Register at rockinghorse.org.uk/events.