A LEGAL eagle is set to soar as she confronts her fear of heights for a fundraiser in support of a cancer charity and in memory of her ‘hero’ brother.

Marie Pym, a residential conveyancer at Clarke & Son Solicitors, will be taking on a wing walk challenge in support of the Ark Cancer Centre Charity and its campaign to raise £5million towards a new NHS cancer treatment centre that will be built in Basingstoke.

The daring feat, on Saturday, 11 August, will also be a tribute to Marie’s brother Adie Lewis, who passed away in August 2016 aged 50, after a long and brave fight with cholangiocarcinoma – incurable cancer of the bile duct.

Mother-of-two Marie, from Basingstoke, has a fear of heights but this did not stop her from joining family members and doing a sponsored skydive in 2015 in support of Adie and AMFF – the cholangiocarcinoma charity – and now she is gearing up for her next heady feat.

Marie, 54, said: “I originally took on the challenge of skydiving in a bid to conquer my extreme fear of heights. While the skydive was a real adrenaline rush, it sadly did not cure my fear! I have rheumatoid arthritis and therefore cannot take on challenges such as sponsored walks and rides. I wanted to do something to contribute towards this year’s fundraising campaign, so I decided to get back in the air again.

“With the skydiving, I had no choice or control. I was strapped to this lovely professional skydiver and where he went, we went. With the wing walk, I will be strapped and tied to the top of the plane and will again have no choice or control as to what the pilot does.

“I am taking on this challenge to support Ark and also in memory of, and tribute to, Adie, who was my hero. I know he would have been proud to support Ark too.”

The Clarke & Son team has raised £55,000 for Ark over the last three years, and in 2018-19, they are hoping to add a further £15,000 to the fundraising total.

Marie, who has worked for the Winchester Road firm for five years, is aiming to raise £1,000 with her wing walk challenge at Wallingford, Oxfordshire.

To donate, go to: app.thegoodexchange.com/fundraising-profile/20/darren-lovegrove.

And once Marie has achieved her fundraising feat, she will be passing the mantle on to her daughter Jade, 24, who will be one of a seven-strong all-women Clarke & Son team who are aiming to abseil down the Emirates Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth on Monday, 27 August.

Mark Jones, director of fundraising and communications for Ark Cancer Centre Charity, said: “Marie is an amazing lady who is clearly going the extra mile to support Ark by taking on this wing walk despite her fear of heights.

“This will be an awesome achievement and it will also be a marvellous tribute to her brother Adie, so it is great to see that she is getting plenty of support from sponsors.”