A WOMAN who shed three stone has finally been able to fulfil her lifelong dream of throwing herself out of a plane.

Lucy Brown, 32, always wanted to take part in a skydive, but was told she was too big.

Novice jumpers must be accompanied by an instructor and the maximum weight limit to take the plunge is 15st.

At 16st 6lbs, Mrs Brown was too heavy.

But this month the former food scientist was finally able to realise her dream after dropping from a size 22 to a size 16, weighting in at 13st 6lbs. She also raised £1,000 for charity.

Mrs Brown said: “I’ve always wanted to do this but the minute you find out there is a weight limit, you just give up hope.

“The day that sealed it for me was when my father-in-law had been admitted to the John Radcliffe hospital with heart problems.

“The lift had broken and I had to walk up all these flights of stairs to get to him. I was absolutely knackered by the time I got to the top and suddenly found myself in a room full of, relatively young, people who were all suffering heart problems and I suddenly thought, ‘This could be me.’ “That was a wake up call for me.”

Mrs Brown puts her initial weight gain down to her former job where she was in charge of a team of food testers for leading brands and supermarkets.

After being made redundant last year Mrs Brown, of Wickham Place, Banbury, lost the weight by joining a slimming class, where she is now a team leader.

Money from the jump, which she did at Hinton Sky Diving Centre, in Northampton, will be donated to Dogs for the Disabled in Banbury.