Staff at the West Suffolk Hospital are to join forces with members of the community to skydive for the Forget-Me-Not dementia campaign.

A total of 14 people will take to the skies later this month in aid of the appeal, which has already raised more than £10,000 in just three months.

The Bury St Edmunds hospital’s dementia trainer Maggie Woodhouse will be joined by fellow staff members Lucy Kroon, Angie Manning, Lucy Whent, Jess Davies, Joanne Hayward, Elliott Stubbs, Jessica Pawson and Rebecca Cox.

Becky Nicholson, Laura Bloomfield – who is taking part in the charity jump to celebrate her 18th birthday – and Matthew Rawlings will also take part in the stunt, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 28.

Imma Parlato and Lee Warwick, who both work at Bury-based UK Power Networks, are also planning to take the plunge, and it will be followed by West Suffolk Hospital Charity’s “It’s a Bury Knockout”, on Sunday, July 13.

Dave Gooderham, the hospital’s fundraising manager, said: “The sky- dive started with a chance encounter from a member of the public telling me they had always wanted to do it – and help the hospital at the same time.

“From there, it has grown and grown with staff members and the community alike getting on board. It should be a great day.”

He added: “We would like to thank all the participants for being braver than me – and also everyone who has supported their fundraising efforts.”

In addition to the Forget-Me-Not fundraisers, a further 11 people will take part to raise money for other areas of the hospital.

Members of the fundraising team and the hospital’s dementia specialists will also be at Sainsbury’s, in Mildenhall, on Friday morning between 9am-1pm, to talk about the campaign.