A MAN from Verwood decided to celebrate his 70th birthday in an unconventional way, by doing a charity abseil.

Peter Swann abseiled down Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth on Saturday August 24 and raised £1,000 for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.

He said: “I was initially going to do it on the 18th but the wind was so strong that we had to postpone it. It got up to a force five which is far too dangerous.

“In the lead up to my birthday, I knew I wanted to do something different, so I started thinking ‘what can I do that is different and can help others?’”

A keen sailor and lover of the water, Peter is a keen follower of Dame Ellen MacArthur, who broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in 2005. After she retired in 2010, she set up the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust to aid young children and teenagers in their recovery from cancer by helping them with their confidence and self-esteem.

“I’ve always had a keen interest in sailing from my days as an electrical engineer on military jet aircraft being in the Navy on aircraft carriers in the late 60s and 70s eventually becoming a field engineer for a print company.

“So, I came up with the idea of the Spinnaker Tower abseil in Pompey, my ex naval port, and Dame Ellen MacArthur who I admired and is one of the fastest sailors around the globe.

“I hope that what I’ve done could maybe inspire others to get out there and try something new.”