AN 80-YEAR-OLD gran whose best friend died suddenly after they had arranged to do a fundraising parachute jump together is going ahead with the big leap – joined by her friend’s 17-year-old grandson.

Fiona Try, of St Leonard’s Hill, Windsor planned to do the jump with fellow Inner Wheel member Jan Carling, 70, to raise money for Beat, the eating disorder charity.

But Mrs Carling’s sudden death in July while playing racquet ball at Thames Valley Athletic Centre in Eton seemed to end the dream.

The ladies had both attended an Inner Wheel conference and been shocked by a speaker’s description of his doctor daughter’s tragic death from anorexia.

Mrs Try said: “I have 11 grandchildren and Jan had a granddaughter. So we could relate to how he felt and wanted to do something for the charity.”

But doing the jump alone without her friend seemed inconceivable.

Then, during the wake at Mrs Carling’s home in Green Lane, Farnham Common, her friend had an idea.

Mrs Carling’s grandson Ben Melrose was among the family members there.

Mrs Try said: “I turned to Ben and said ‘I need a friend. How about you doing the jump with me in her place’.”

Ben agreed at once.

He said: “I was a bit surprised when she asked me. Now I’m really looking forward to doing the jump for granny. She was one of a kind and it was typical that one of the last things she planned was for charity.

“I’m a rock climber so I’m not worried by heights.”

Mrs Try and Ben made their first attempt to do the jump on Sunday at an army airfield in Salisbury, but bad weather ruled it out .

She said: “Some people had already jumped and we were due to go next. Then it started to hail so we weren’t allowed to follow.

Mrs Try said: “It was disappointing but we were not deterred – we have a new date on October 1 and are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather holds up so we can jump then.”