Three generations of family take on 70ft abseil memory of beloved husband, dad and grandad for Pontefract hospice

Tracey Watson, her mum Anne and daughter Hannah decided to take on this challenge in aid of The Prince of Wales Hospice in memory of Tracey’s dad, Anne’s husband and Hannah’s grandad.

Tracey, who is a palliative care doctor at the hospice, said: “He died over 30 years ago but he played a part in my becoming a doctor at the there.

"He was a nurse who believed in hospice care before it was commonplace and helped raise money for a hospice in our home town.

"He passed on those values to me.

“I like a challenge but hadn’t done anything similar to this since a parachute jump in my 20s.

“I was talking about the hospice challenge and my mum, who is almost 80, said she’d always wanted to abseil.

“I signed her up the next week.”

The challenge included a 45ft ‘Tyrolean traverse’, which had participants dangling from a harness on a rope to get across two rocks.

They had to pull themselves across, with the help of the other participants and instructors on the other side.

And the 70ft abseil saw them take on a controlled slide down a rope to descend a rock face.

“It was really special doing the challenge as a three-generation, all-female team.

"We smashed our target of £1,000 and money is still coming in.

"I wouldn’t have called my mum a ‘dare devil’ before, maybe I should though - she was raised with six brothers and three sisters and she does always get involved.

"She has sledged down the roads in Madeira and wrangled an ostrich since retirement.

"She has raised at least a third of our total sponsorship and that’s without the power of Facebook!

"She’s now a minor celebrity at her church.”

The Prince of Wales Hospice cares for and supports patients with life-limiting illness and their families, offering round-the-clock care for around 900 people each year.