UP-for-a-challenge grand-mother Trish Wagstaff snorkelled with sharks to raise money for an Oxford hospice – after being told she was too old to go wing-walking!

Mrs Wagstaff, from Appleton, took the plunge to raise more than £9,000 for Sobell House hospice at the Churchill Hospital, in Headington.

The daring challenge was a drop in the ocean for the 78-year-old who has spent two decades raising an impressive £100,000 for the charity.

The mother-of-two, who took part in a tandem skydive for Age Concern two years ago, showed her continuing appetite for adventure as she got in the tank with 3m-long Sand Tiger sharks on Saturday at the Blue Planet Aquarium at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

Mrs Wagstaff was accompanied by aquarium staff on the 30-minute dive, and said: “I suppose it was potentially quite dangerous, but I was not too worried.

“Afterwards I felt quite exhilarated. My only worry was whether my ears would hold out under water. I know sharks can look quite fearsome, but the sharks at the centre are pussycats really.

“I was with fully-qualified scuba divers who regard them as pets.”

Mrs Wagstaff also had a close encounter with a stingray called Matilda and a chocolate brown eel with “horrible fangs”.

Aquarium spokeswoman Eileen Burgess said: “Trish is the oldest person to dive with sharks and the youngest is a 10-year-old boy from Barrow-in-Furness.

“The Sand Tiger sharks have 250 teeth and could give you a very nasty bite.”

Mrs Wagstaff, whose husband Peter died two years ago aged 87, chose the shark stunt when she failed to get permission to wing-walk on a biplane.

She added: “I have been volunteering for Sobell House for about 22 years and over the years I have raised more than £100,000, which is an astonishing amount.

“My father died of cancer in an open hospital with no pain alleviation, so when I heard about Sobell House I thought ‘what a wonderful idea’ and wanted to do something to help.

“I have always travelled a lot and been quite adventurous. When my husband was alive we took a flight alongside the face of Everest and since he died I have been to Croatia.

“When I did the skydive at Weston-on-the-Green airfield, I was attached to a very nice young man.

“I’m off to Turkey on my own on a package holiday but I always find plenty of people to talk to.”

Mrs Wagstaff has two children, Sheena, 52, and Keith, 50, and two grandchildren, Tom, 23, and Emmie, 21.

She first worked as a volunteer in the coffee bar in the Radcliffe Infirmary and also volunteers for Marie Curie Cancer Care and Age Concern.

Sobell House fundraiser Kevin Game said: “Trish is a tireless supporter of Sobell House and over the years has raised a huge amount.

“She is one of our most dedicated supporters.”