CHRISTIAN Aid supporters dared the pier zip wire to raise funds for mothers and children in Africa.

Among the 11 who braved the chilly weather and the dizzying height of the attraction on Bournemouth Pier were an octogenarian – James Cairns – and the Bishop of Sherborne Dr Graham Kings.

Between them the group are expecting to have raised around £2,200 for the charity’s Christmas Appeal, a total which will be match-funded by the Government as part of UK Aid Match.

Christian Aid’s south west business manager Penny Haynes also took part in the challenge.

“It was an absolutely beautiful day, and we had a very successful fundraiser,” she said.

“You can see the sea through the stairs below you on the way up which is quite daunting, and then when you get to the top you are worried about how far you will fall when you jump off the platform.

“But it was good fun and certainly got the adrenaline pumping.”

She said the Right Reverend Graham Kings, who spent seven years working in Kenya and is a strong supporter of the work of Christian Aid, was “quite intrepid” and had previously been abseiling for the charity.

Retired surgeon Mr Cairns, 83, was also prepared to brave the 820-foot long ride. He has chaired Poole’s Christian Aid supporter group for more than 10 years.

“I was thrilled to hear that the Government will double whatever Christian Aid supporters raise – so thrilled in fact that I signed up for the zip wire,” he said.

“In some parts of rural Kenya maternal mortality is as bad today as it was here in the 1930s, with haemorrhage, infection and eclampsia claiming many lives. These deaths are preventable.

“It’s heartbreaking to learn of mothers and babies dying knowing that here in the UK they would in almost every case have been saved.”

To support Christian Aid’s Christmas Appeal – supporting mothers and babies in Kenya and Malawi – donate online at christianaid.org.uk/christmas