A FIREFIGHTER who accidentally burned down his own business has made more than 350 skydives in support of the charity that helped him get back on his feet.

Pete Price, crew manager at Cricklade Fire Station, saw his garage business Prestige Repairs burn to the ground five years ago after he was sent to a fire in Swindon.

He was supported along the way by the Firefighters Charity, and has become hooked on parachuting after he started fundraising for the cause. His next jump, with the Renegade Parachute Display Team, will be on September 8 at the Emergency Services Show at Hullavington Airfield.

Pete said: “One day we were busy working on some vehicles and had one parked up by our garage. We had removed the wheel bearings to settle, and left them to cool as they were extremely hot.

“We got a page and got called out to Swindon as we were on standby duty. You have no time to do anything else when that happens, you have to drop everything.

“On the road to Swindon another appliance became available and we turned back. We could see black smoke billowing in the general area of our workshop.

“It destroyed the whole building and everything around it. Members of the public helped us get back on our feet. We were back operating again within a month, in the open but working.

“What kept us afloat was the Firefighter Charity, which kept us alive throughout that time. They dug very deep in their own pockets, and it was their help which kept a roof over our heads.

“I felt it was time to give back to them. During the Swindon 50/50 event, in which Drove Road Fire Station tried to raise £50,000, they set up a skydiving event. Some spaces became available, and I saw the opportunity to pay back a real debt of gratitude to the charity.

“Since then I have made around 350 jumps and encouraged between 20 and 30 people to skydive for the first time themselves. I have now started demonstrating jumps to try to encourage people to get involved.

“That is where the Renegades come in. We are all just normal people with normal jobs enjoying the art of parachuting.

“People can jump for free if they are raising money for charity.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said: “It is wonderful that Pete originally wanted to do this jump as a one-off but now he is doing it regularly and the whole thing has come full circle. We are very grateful to Pete for the work he has done in raising money.”