SHE has just plummeted thousands of feet in honour of her grandmother but Gemma Willis has already turned her attention to her next fundraiser.

The 25-year-old, who is a receptionist at Churchfields School, raised nearly £700 for the Alzheimer’s Society by jumping out of a plane at 10,000ft over Swindon.

Gemma went tandem skydiving last weekend at Redlands airfield, in Wanborough.

“It was really scary, there was one point I thought ‘actually I don’t know if I want to do it anymore’,” said Gemma, of Highworth.

“It was quite cloudy, I couldn’t see anything.

“I watched the single jumpers go first and they disappeared – I was like ‘do I really want to do it?’ “The feeling is really weird. I thought my stomach would go over but it didn’t. You can feel the G-Force, my cheeks were nearly up to my eyes.”

Gemma trained on the day for 30 minutes before the six-minute tandem jump.

A photographer jumped at the same time as Gemma and her instructor, Steven Forster, and documented the whole jump. “The photographer kept telling me ‘keep your chin up and look at me’,” she said.

“Steven was great. He was very reassuring and helped make the jump a more amazing experience.

“I got a lot more nervous than I thought I would and it was a lot more scary at the top. I’m still on a high from it, I would definitely do it again.”

Her grandmother, Helen Thompson, has had Alzheimer’s for more than eight years and Gemma is hoping everyone will support her again when she holds a Wii triathalon on Saturday at The Fox, in Highworth.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting about 465,000 people in the UK.

It is a progressive disease, which means that over time, more parts of the brain are damaged. As this happens, the symptoms become more severe.

“My lovely grandma has been suffering for more than eight years now,” said Gemma.

“My family and friends have said they are very proud of me, and I am proud of myself and the money I have raised for the cause.

“I wish to raise the money to help towards drug research so future people may not have to go through the same experience my family and I have,” she said.

The Alzheimer’s Society is the leading support and research charity for people with dementia, their families and carers.

Gemma’s Wii triathalon is on Saturday from 8pm. Entry is £2.

To sponsor Gemma visit www.justgiving.com/ gemma-willis.