WHAT do you do when a parachute jump goes wrong?

Ron Skinner found out exactly what you do when he attempted his first ever skydive at the age of 70 for charity.

And when the skydive company offered him a second go for free to make up for it, he decided not to push his luck.

The father-of-two from Abingdon took the plunge from Redlands Airfield near Swindon on Sunday, May 8, to raise money for Maggie's Oxford cancer support centre.

He even managed to drag along daughters, Rebecca, 41, and Sarah, 38, to raise as much sponsorship as possible.

Luckily, their jumps went according to plan.

The day of their dive had already been postponed a fortnight, after their first was cancelled because of strong winds - the auspices were not good.

But, the real day of the dive dawned sunny and clear, the trio boarded their plane and before they knew it they were among the clouds.

Mr Skinner, a former worker at Tesco's Didcot distribution centre, said: "We get up to 10,000ft, they open the door, and the first chap who is diving is gone.

"My instructor, who I'm harnessed to, shuffles me over to the door and then I'm dangling out in space while he's still inside."

Then there was a pause: Mr Skinner, dangling out in space, didn't know what was wrong.

"My daughter Sarah later told me my instructor was having a problem with his parachute, but the chap behind me was saying to him 'get out the way, we need to do it while we're at the right height'.

"So he just jumped out."

The pair plummeted in free fall but after just a few seconds Mr Skinner felt a strong tug in his shoulders.

"The parachute opened early: it wasn't suppose to open until 1,500ft or something.

"I see my two daughters freefalling away below and I'm stuck up here with my instructor.

"He said to me, 'looks like we're taking the scenic route down'."

Then, 10,000ft over Swindon, Mr Skinner's instructor handed him the ropes, and he steered them gently towards the ground.

When they landed, the company told Mr Skinner to get a cup of coffee, get himself together, and then he could take another jump free of charge.

He said: "I thought 'on your bike lad – once is enough'."

The parachute jump is only Mr Skinner's latest adventure to raise money for Maggie's Oxford: in 2016, with no previous experience, he trekked for 16 days across the Himalayas for the centre.

Mr Skinner, president of Abingdon Lions fundraising club, said the key to taking on mammoth challenges was not to think about what you're doing too much before you actually do it.

The skydiving trio have so far raised £1,700 for Maggie's and are still collecting.

Sponsor them online at justgiving.com/fundraising/ron-skinner111