GRANDMOTHER Rosemary Green has urged the elderly to take on new challenges after abseiling 100ft from Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.

The 77-year-old was one of 105 people who abseiled from the top of the Women’s centre building, raising a total of £20,000.

Mrs Green’s age didn’t prevent her from making another great leap – using the Justgiving website and creating her own Facebook page to help raise money.

The pensioner, who was the oldest person taking part, said: “I’m the sort of person who likes to do different things and as I had never done an abseil before, I thought, ‘why not?’ “This seemed a fun and worthwhile thing to do. I think it’s important for older people to remain as active as they can and I never tire of doing new things.”

Mrs Green was joined by more than 100 others, who raised money for eight different causes, all linked to the NHS in Oxfordshire.

The grandmother of 14, from Marston, Oxford, added: “Getting over the edge was a bit daunting, but after that it was fun.

“In fact it was all over so quickly, I would quite happily have gone up and done it again.

“I have raised over £850 for the geratology department, which looks after the care of older patients. I think it’s a really worthwhile cause.”

The eight charities involved were: SEU (Surgical Emergency Unit), Geratology Development Fund, Heads Up (head and neck cancer), Oscar (children with brain and spinal tumours), the Heart Centre, SSNAP (Support for the Sick and Newborn and their Parents), Occtopus (Oxford Colon Cancer Trust) and Coasters (Oxfordshire Mental Health).

Several abseils are held every year at the Women’s Centre, to give people the opportunity to raise money for charities.

Previous abseils have raised money for the Children’s Hospital, and on Sunday, May 17, there will be an event to help the Cancer Centre. For details, call 01865 743444 or see the hsoptail charities' website.