BRAVE fundraiser Ellen Bennett had to grow up without her little sister, and now she will tackle a skydive in her memory.

The 22-year-old from Moredon will take to the skies today to take the plunge in memory of her sister Ashleigh, who died when she was only three and Ellen was five.

Ellen said: “I’m doing a tandem skydive for Meningitis Now because I want to raise some money and awareness for them.

“My sister had meningitis when she was only three and she died from it.

“I was only five at the time so I didn’t really understand what was going on, but as I have got older I have got to learn more about it and understand it more.

“It was pretty hard at times growing up without her. I was like a second mother to her. I always watched out for her and if she hurt herself I was always there with a plaster.

“I just helped look after her and care for her.

“Now I just want to raise money to help find a cure for the disease.”

Ellen is raising funds for Meningitis Now, which is working towards finding a cure for the disease.

So far she has raised more than £400.

She said: “It is a good charity that does research into finding a cure. I just want to raise as much money as I can. I’ve already raised about £400 so far but want to raise more.”

It is the first time that Ellen has done anything for charity in memory of her sister.

She said: “I think it’s always been something I wanted to do and I just had the idea to do it. Because my little sister died from it, it’s something that’s really important to me.

“I think I will definitely try and do more things in the future if this goes well. I’ve always wanted to do something like this. I’m looking forward to it.”

Ellen will be airborne between 8am and 12pm today.

Meningitis Now was formed after charities Meningitis UK and Meningitis Trust came together.

They work towards a vision of a future where no one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need to rebuild their lives.

To sponsor Ellen, visitwww.justgiving.com/ellen-bennett1.

For more information about Meningitis Now, visit www.meningitisnow.org.