A travel agent has raised more than £2,000 for a charity which supports families affected by a rare genetic neuromuscular condition.

Hays Travel Cheltenham branch manager, Peter Holgate, took part in a skydive on 28 June to raise money for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) UK, in memory of his daughter, Stephanie. 

Peter said: “This charity is so close to our family’s hearts as tragically we lost our beautiful daughter Stephanie at only seven months old to SMA type 1. 

“I want to make a difference if I can. Our lives changed forever when we lost Stephanie, but I want to ensure all is done to prevent other tragedies.” 

Peter confronted his fear of heights to take the 15,000 ft plunge nearly 30 years after losing his baby daughter to the rare genetic condition. 

The skydive raised £2,160 for the charity which supports people affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  

Although Peter and his wife Michelle raised money for the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children soon after Stephanie’s death, Peter was inspired to start another fundraising effort after hearing former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson speaking on breakfast TV about her twins’ SMA diagnosis. 

Peter would like the rest of the UK to follow Scotland’s lead by including SMA as one of the rare conditions covered by the newborn blood spot test, a check recommended for babies at five days old. 

Hays Travel is the UK’s largest independent travel agent, with branches across the UK – all committed to supporting their customers and the local communities they serve.

Each Hays Travel branch is provided with a £500 budget to use for fundraising and charity work in their local area; £200 of this is to be used to fundraise for charities which support young people’s mental health, and the other £300 can be used for charities chosen by the branch.  

In the last year, Hays Travel’s Local Community Partnership initiative across its retail network has donated almost £170,000 to local charities. 

To donate to Peter’s fundraiser, visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/peter-holgate-1