RATHER than put her feet up and have a slice of cake with a glass of bubbly, one intrepid Dawlish pensioner chose to celebrate her 80th birthday with a bit of an adventure.

Bernice Johnson decided the best way to mark her special day was to take to the skies and do a charity wing walk. Sadly, low cloud and poor weather put paid to that plan. However, she was able to enjoy her aerial experience one week later. So on Sunday she headed up to Dunkeswell airfield in Somerset.

She said: ‘I like to do something silly most years, so I’m doing this to raise money for two good causes – the Devon Air Ambulance and Rowcroft Hospice.’

Mother of three and grandmother to four, Bernice wanted to support Rowcroft as her late husband Fred passed away in their local hospice when they lived in Warwickshire. And she’s supporting the Air Ambulance Trust for all the good work they do.

Before the flight she said: ‘I’m not at all nervous. The only thing I am worried about is whether they can get me up onto the wing!’

She’s no stranger to danger, as she marked her 70th birthday with a parachute jump. Bernice recalled: ‘I was already doing charity work, knitting items for an impaired vision school, but I wanted to something more than just sitting there, so the parachute jump came to mind.

‘I remember the only difficult part was climbing into the plane – they had to pull me up in by my straps!’

That obviously gave Bernice a taste for the high life as she’s since taken flying lessons in a Cesna and glider.

Bernice paid for the privilege of wingwalking – more than £500. ‘It was a birthday gift to myself,’ she said.

She is collecting cash donations and has also put posters up around Dawlish where people can scan a QR code for either charity and make a pledge.

The posters are still on view and Bernice is still collecting.So far she’s raised more than £1,500 for the charities and the money’s still coming in. When all the money’s gathered and counted it will be passed on to the two worthy causes.

On Sunday she was secured to the top of a 1941 Boeing Stearman biplane courtesy of Wingwalkbuzz, and taken to heights of 1,000 feet and flown at speeds up to 130mph.

For more than 10 minutes she experienced enough dives and turns to frighten the hardiest of souls, but it was all grist to the mill for our Bernice.

The ecstatic pensioner said: ‘It was fantastic! I’d do it all again if I could.

‘The only difficulty was getting myself up onto the cockpit so I could step up onto the wing.’

She was disappointed she wasn’t able to do a loop the loop as it’s no longer permitted ‘but they did manage to throw me about a bit!’ she admitted.

Her daughter Debbie said: ‘It was a fabulous day, and as soon as mum came off the plane and walked over to us she said that she wanted to do it again – along with another parachute jump.

‘I think there’s no stopping this incredible lady.’

Rowcroft community fundraising officer Debbi Shotton said: ‘This was such an amazing thing for Bernice to do and we are so grateful that she has chosen to support Rowcroft Hospice through this thrilling challenge.

‘We rely heavily on voluntary contributions from our community to enable us to continue to provide care and support to over 2,000 patients every year. We simply could not do what we do without people like Bernice. We all wish her a happy 80th birthday.’

Lottie Clark, supporter engagement officer at Devon Air Ambulance said: ‘We are so pleased to have been chosen as one of Bernice’s chosen charities in her wing walking challenge, alongside Rowcroft Hospice.

‘What an amazing way to celebrate her 80th birthday, with a bracing wing walk! Bernice’s adrenaline-fuelled birthday, and her amazing fundraising will help us continue to provide our life-saving service across Devon and beyond. ‘We are so grateful to Bernice for her bravery and commitment to raising money for us in this way.’

So what next for this daredevil granny? Well, she’s planning another high-flying adventure.

Her granddaughter Ziggy is looking into whether they can abseil 170m down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth on Bernice’s next birthday, and daughter Debbie is arranging a more sedate zip wire trip across a Welsh quarry.

Meanwhile Bernice is planning beyond that: ‘I’m gong to do another wing walk ... but give it a couple of years!’