Boys brave bungee for Lanes Lymphoma charity

Lanes’ Tom Earnshaw is an acrophobic. That means he is terrified of heights. So he is the last person you would expect to throw himself off a 300-foot crane, attached only by a piece of elastic.

But that is exactly what Tom did, along with five other Lanes for Drains staff. And it was all for a great cause: to raise money for Lanes’ 2012 chosen charity — the Lymphoma Association, which supports people affected by lymphoma, the UK’s fifth most common cancer.

For Tom this was a personal mission: last year he lost a friend, aged 20, to the disease. And he is not the only one to be affected — fellow bungee buddy Mark Reed also signed up because his closest friend is suffering from hypereionosphilic leukaemia, a condition related to lymphoma.

When Tom put out a Group-wide email asking for volunteers, Mark did not hesitate. And, completing the Lanes’ team of daredevils at Tatton Park in Cheshire on 24 March, 2012, were the London depot’s David Finch; Damus Balfour from Preston; and Chris Keeling and Chris Wilde, both from the United Utilities team in Eccles.

The weather was glorious, so the intrepid jumpers were accompanied by a crowd of family, friends and colleagues all keen to witness the event. Last to jump was Tom, who said that despite being ‘absolutely terrified’, he enjoyed the experience and wanted to do it again!

In fact, he (rashly) suggested that he would do another bungee jump for the next Lanes Group charity… And now it is in writing, we may hold him to it!

When all the money is counted, the Lanes’ bungee jumpers hope to have raised around £2000 for the Lymphoma Association.