A BLIND fundraiser is flying high after beating a lifelong fear for charity.

Carol Fearn took the controls of a motorised glider after taking off with an instructor from Rufforth Airfield.

It was her way of thanking those who supported her since she lost her sight in 1995.

Carol, 51, of Burton Stone Lane, York, said: "I was a bag of nerves and it's a huge relief to be back on the ground, but I feel like I have achieved something for all my friends and everybody who is blind."

Sponsor money will be shared between Huntington Road Day Centre, which Carol has attended for the past four years, and organisations that work with the blind and partially-sighted.

Carol's achievement defied a fear of flying which she has always suffered.

She said: "It was a great experience, although I was very nervous when I was up there. I think I'll still be terrified, but it does make me feel a bit happier about flying and I think I would do it again. I feel I have achieved something."

Carol doesn't yet know how much money she has raised. But she is already planning her next daredevil fundraising stunt.

"I'm thinking about doing a parachute jump next time," she said.