Post woman takes on shark dive for charity

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A postwoman is swapping her uniform for a wetsuit and taking on tank of sharks to raise funds for a national charity.

Stephanie Wilson, 22 from Malpas near Whitchurch, will be taking part in a shark dive on December 14 to raise money and awareness for the Stroke Association – and she won't even have the protection of a cage.

Surrounded by Sand Tiger Sharks, Nurse Sharks and Lemon Sharks, Miss Wilson will be face to face with the huge fish at the Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire.

The charity was announced as Royal Mail Group’s Charity of the Year after receiving nearly 40,000 votes from staff. But Miss Wilson was also inspired by her sister Christine who is a works for the charity, helping to support stroke survivors as they come to terms with a life after stroke.

Miss Wilson said: “I hear the impact that my sister has on the stroke survivors and the families that she supports in her day to day role. I want to support the fantastic work the Stroke Association does, and to ensure they can be there for even more families who have been affected by stroke.

“I’ve taken part in fundraisers before, including 10km runs and half marathons but this is something completely different and the challenge really stood out to me!

"I’m a little nervous about the dive, but really excited about coming face-to-face with the sharks. I’m also very grateful to everyone who has sponsored me so far."

Miss Wilson will begin the day by having training in a classroom environment learning all about the animals she will be diving with and the principles of scuba diving.

She will then be kitted out with her scuba gear and will have a go in the training pool before taking on the real challenge in the main tank.

Laura McMullin, regional fundraiser from the Stroke Association, said: “Every year there are approximately 152,000 strokes in the UK – that's one stroke every three and a half minutes.

"We rely on people like Stephanie to help change lives and together we can conquer stroke.”

For more information about strokes please contact 0303 3033 100 or go to http://www.stroke.org.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

To sponsor Stephanie visit: http://www.sponsorme.co.uk/stephaniewil ... ssociation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Postwoman swaps the sack for sharks to raise money for charity

A postwoman swapped her red uniform for scuba diving gear and raised more than £1,500 after coming face-to-face with a tank of sharks.


Stephanie Wilson inside the tank with one of the sharkshttp://www.shropshirestar.com/wpmvc/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/9056202.jpg

Stephanie Wilson, 22, from Whitchurch, may be used to fighting of dogs nipping at her heels, but she took on an animal with a different bite and dived into a tank of sharks in a bid to raise money for the Stroke Association.

And thanks to £930 sponsorship from family and friends, Royal Mail matched the amount she raised, leaving her with a total of £1,860.

She said: “I was very excited on the day but as soon as I got into the training tank I suddenly became very nervous.

“It was hard dealing with the pressure on my head and ears but once I got used to it and relaxed it was amazing. My favourite part was how close the fish and sharks got.”

Miss Wilson decided to raise money for the charity when it was chosen as Royal Mail Group’s Charity of the Year.

She was also inspired by her sister, who works for the charity as a communication support coordinator, helping to support stroke survivors.

For more information about stroke contact 0303 3033 100 or visit http://www.stroke.org.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;