A GREENOCK woman will go above and beyond today in memory of her beloved mum who died from a chronic lung condition.

Brave Bernadette Jennings will be facing her fears this afternoon when she jumps out of a plane at 13,000ft as a tribute to her much loved mum Beta McCann.

Beta died last February after battling Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

The 50-year-old hopes to raise as much money as she can for the British Lung Foundation - a charity that promotes lung health and supports those affected by lung disease.

Bernadette said: "It will be a very emotional time for me thinking about my mum while flying through the sky.

"But this is all for a great cause."

Daredevil Bernadette says her mum, who was 74 and lived in Mackie Avenue, developed COPD after a bout of pneumonia.

She said: "It took away everything that my mum was all about.

"She was always keeping fit.

"But suddenly this occurred through a bout of pneumonia and she was never the same.

"It had a big impact on her life, she couldn't get out and at the end she was on oxygen all the time."

Bernadette hopes that through her skydive she can raise money and awareness of the charity.

She said: "It's all about getting some support for the charity with their research.

"Somebody dies from lung disease every five minutes and their aim is to always improve care and to prevent, treat and cure lung diseases."

Bernadette says she has been overwhelmed by the support she has received so far especially from her husband Keith and their three children Derek, 29, Maekenzie, 19, and Logan, 14.

She added: "I just can't wait to do it now.

"I was supposed to do it on the 2nd but it was cancelled due to the weather and then it was cancelled again on the 10th so I'm hoping it's third time lucky today because it's closer to my mum's anniversary."

Bernadette, who has two sisters and two brothers, now lives in Seaforde in Northern Ireland but says her heart is very much still in Greenock.

She said: "I'm the only one who moved away, all my mum's family are still in Greenock."

Bernadette is no stranger to pushing herself to the limit in aid of charity as she completed the Great North Run in 2014 in aid of the NSPCC and she also took part in a Race for Life in 2011 with Maekenzie and Logan to raise money for Cancer Research.

After her skydive, Bernadette will take on the Belfast Marathon to raise even more funds for the charity.

To donate to her sponsorship fund in memory of Beta visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bernadette-jennings1