A SIXTEEN-year-old Bolton girl has raised hundreds of pounds for a lifeboat charity by completing a daring skydive.

Extreme sports enthusiast Elissa Bowell got the adrenalin rush of her life when she jumped out of an aeroplane at 10,000 ft for a skydive over Lancaster fields.

Strapped to the front of an experienced skydiver, Elissa dropped through clouds and got a real 'birds eye' view of the world below her.

She said: "It was amazing. A real adrenalin rush - my stomach was really jumping. You really feel alive, it's exhilarating. Once we got through the clouds, I could see everything very clearly."

The Withington Girls School pupil decided to do the jump because it was a means of raising money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Elissa supports the charity as she has been a keen sailor for the past ten years, sailing at Abersoch in Wales when she was younger and more recently competing in the Catamaran Nationals.

Elissa, of Chorley New Road, not only raised enough money for the RNLI to cover the cost of the Skydive but also raised an additional £500 for the charity through sponsorship, organising a school concert and holding cake stalls.

She has raised enough cash to purchase a complete lifeboat crew kit, which consists of an all weather protection jacket, a lifejacket with lifeline, helmet, gloves, waterproof trousers and non slip boots.

Elissa said: "When I was younger I used to be fascinated watching the lifeboat crews getting ready to go out and it's been great to do something for them."

The adventurous teenager who hopes one day to be a barrister, said she would like to do more skydives and raise even more money for the RNLI.

She hopes to do the Great Manchester Run and organise another charity school concert next year