Fundraisers abseil from i360 for children's charity

The daredevils taking part in iDrop (Photograph: British Airways i360/Sussex Sports Photography)

An abseiling event at the i360 raised Â£37,000 for Sussex charity Rockinghorse.

The iDrop event at the seafront attraction saw 29 people take on the challenge, abseiling from the British Airways i360 pod, 450ft above Brighton on Saturday (April 28).

Those who took part included boxer Chris Eubank Jnr; two 14-year-old children, Jake Heal and Carlota Melo; and an 85-year-old daredevil grandmother Jeannine Brett.

Hassocks businessman Colin Brace, 53 came dressed as a baby, highlighting the event’s support for the Trevor Mann Baby Unit. Two came dressed as Superwoman, Tracie Moultrie, 47 from Kent and an Louise Mimnagh, 35, from Shoreham.

Hassocks businessman Colin Brace came dressed as a baby (Photograph: British Airways i360/Sussex Sports Photography)

There were also several people with strong connections to the charity, which is the fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton.

The charity said the cash raised would go towards a specialist x-ray machine for premature babies at the Trevor Mann Baby Unit

Rockinghorse chief executive Ryan Heal said: “Today has been an incredible day for Rockinghorse. Our first thanks goes to the i360 for inviting us to work with them on this project. Our abseilers then took up the challenge to accomplish this awesome feat. Together they have raised over £37,000 for our cause and the impact of those funds will be huge for the children in our city that need the most help. Huge thanks to everyone involved, a day for many to remember forever.”

British Airways i360 executive director Steve Bax said: “Our first iDrop Abseil event has been a fantastic success and the participants have already raised a huge amount of vital funds for Rockinghorse. We would like to thank the brilliant team at Belay Rope Access which operated the abseil, Chris Eubank Jnr for his support and every other person who took part today.

85-year-old daredevil grandmother Jeannine Brett (Photograph: British Airways i360/Sussex Sports Photography)

“We are thrilled with the response from the participants and the wider public, and we’re delighted to announce that we will soon be launching public abseil events - registration is now open on our website.”

To register for information about public iDrop abseil events, visit: BritishAirwaysi360.com/idrop