MAYOR of Thame Nichola Dixon flung herself from a plane flying at more than 16,000 feet to raise hundreds of pounds for charity.

The 42-year-old jumped with the London Parachute School from Chiltern Park Aerodrome on Saturday and said the second she landed, she wanted to do it again.

She said: “I had a great time and had really good weather too. Straight away I said I would do it again but then I thought, ‘hold on, it’s that sort of talk that got me into this in the first place’.”

The mother-of-three said she was more excited than nervous on the day.

She added: “The guys at London Parachute School were so calm about the whole thing. It was brilliant. It made me feel so confident.

“The scariest bit was the first few seconds, when you fall out and you’re just hurtling down towards the ground.”

Her daughters Jessica, 17, Georgina, 15, and Amelia, seven, came to watch on the day, along with Ms Dixon’s parents, sister, friends and fellow councillors.

Ms Dixon, who works as an office manager in Buckinghamshire, became mayor on May 19 and could choose her charities for the year.

She decided to take on a number of challenges so she could raise as much money as possible.

Her next challenge, she says, will be to walk on hot coals.

She said: “I can’t go a whole year with just one death-defying stunt. I’ll definitely be doing something else.”

Ms Dixon will be splitting the funds raised from her challenge between her two charities; the Thame and District Day Centre and Thame to Thame, a fundraising project to rebuild a school in Nepal. So far she has collected about £1,400 with a target of £1,500.

Fellow Thame town councillor Peter Lambert came along to watch.

He said: “I thought it was fantastic. I was mayor three years ago and I would have never done it.”

Anyone who wants to support the mayor’s year of fundraising can visit gofundme.com/mayorofthame to donate.