A GRANDMOTHER who underwent a gruelling 14-hour operation to treat mouth cancer has raised more than £1,200 for York Hospital.

Former taxi driver Linda Dodgson took part in a sponsored skydive in her home town of Bridlington to raise the money for the hospital’s Head and Neck Department as thanks for their care during and after surgery.

The 67-year-old and her 23-year-old grandson Tom Keeping, an electrician from Bridlington, were both diagnosed with cancer in the same week in 2012.

Linda, who had radical surgery in December 2012 at York Hospital and now has regular check-ups, said they did the dive together last August.

She said: “I wanted to undertake a challenge to raise funds for the head and neck department as a way of saying thank you for the fantastic care I received.

“Everyone looked after me so well. I thoroughly enjoyed the skydive, especially doing it with my grandson, and I’d like to thank my family and friends for their support and sponsorship.”

Linda, who has 16 grandchildren, said:” Tom is my eldest and we have always had a bond. This has made that stronger. Tom wanted to do the dive to support me.”

Don Holt, consultant maxillofacial surgeon at York Hospital, said: “We would like to sincerely thank Linda for taking part in the skydive and for raising such a large sum of money.

She really is incredibly brave. Linda`s very generous contribution to the Maxillo-facial Department will allow us to invest in new equipment and the further education of the team to enhance the quality of the care we can provide for head and neck patients in North Yorkshire.”