UK woman marks 102nd birthday with 'scary' skydive

LONDON: A British woman on Sunday celebrated her 102nd birthday by skydiving out of a plane, probably the most exciting and memorable in her life. 

Manette Baillie said she hoped her daredevil antics might inspire other elderly people to stay active.

It was "a bit scary", she said, adding "I must admit I shut my eyes very firmly."

Baillie told BBC radio she just wanted "other people who are getting towards 80 and 90 not to give up anything. Just keep going".

“When the door opened I thought, there is nothing more I can do or say. Just jump," the adventurous woman told Sky News after diving. 

“Well, I suppose I jumped,” she added, “I remember my legs going out and it’s a kind of blur. I shut my eyes. We seem to travel at a very fast speed," Baillie described her experience. 

It's not the first time the centenarian from the village of Benhall Green in eastern England has taken on a daredevil challenge.

She drove around the Silverstone motor racing circuit in a Ferrari at 210 kilometres per hour (130 miles per hour) to mark her 100th birthday two years ago.

The skydive at Beccles Airfield involved Baillie jumping from a height of more than 2,100 metres (6,900 feet), with an assistant strapped into the harness with her.

Baillie said earlier she had been spurred into action after hearing about a friend´s 85-year-old father who had done a skydive.

"If an 85-year-old man can do it, so can I," she said.