Shropshire skydiver inspired by mum surviving 5,000ft fall

A skydiver was inspired to take up the sport after his mother survived a fall from 5,000ft (1,524m) when a parachute jump went wrong.

It was initially thought Hans Donner's mother had died when she landed on a concrete helipad in 1972, prompting people to put a blanket over her.

But amazingly she lived to jump again after spending two years in hospital.

By coincidence, Mr Donner was a trainer at Netheravon, Wiltshire, scene of his mother's accident five decades ago.

Since taking up skydiving at the age of 16, Mr Donner, now 43 and from Nescliffe, Shropshire, has completed 4,000 jumps, and once held the record for the highest number of tandem jumps performed in 24 hours.

As well as the inspiration to do that, he also followed his parents Paul and Jeanette's footsteps to serve in the military, enabling him to parachute and base-jump all over the world.

Mrs Donner was very lucky to survive the fall, at the base in Wiltshire, when both her parachutes failed to open.

She had to spend six months in a full-body cast and two years in hospital after suffering a broken back and neck.

She is a "tough cookie," said Mr Donner. "She did jump again after that, so that was always an inspiration."

His parents didn't push him into skydiving, he said, but to see his mother still wanting to jump after her experience, meant "there must be something behind it."

He first jumped in 1996, before joining the Army in 2005, where he served in Iraq as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) specialist.

After leaving the armed forces in 2012, he became an instructor and military contractor working at Netheravon.

Mr Donner has also branched out into base jumping and using wingsuits.

"In Switzerland, I managed to jump the Eiger, that was an amazing jump-off," he said.

Things have not always gone to plan though.

He says he has had 10 malfunctions, but luckily the emergency parachute has worked every time.

His worst injury came when he jumped off Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfalls, shattering his left leg.

Mr Donner is planning future jumps in Spain, and the south of France, and has set up his own base jumping company.

With the skydiving season opening in February, he said people could embrace the challenge, and "push themselves a little bit", while raising money for charity.

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