WHEN asked what they want for their birthday, not every teenager would respond by saying they wanted to jump out of a plane from more than 13,000 feet.

But Imogen Dodd took her parents by surprise by doing just that.

The Trinity School pupil, who turned 16 on October 6 last year, shocked her parents, Gary and Julie, by asking for them to pay for her to take part in a tandem skydive.

Imogen, who lives on Houghton Road, Houghton, will complete her daring jump on March 26 in aid of a worthy cause.

A keen fundraiser in her spare time, she is hoping to raise about £500 for Carlisle Mencap, who she has previously supported by completing a sponsored abseil from Carlisle Civic Centre in 2014.

However, this time, she said she wanted to go one step further.

"We've got some family friends who give people the chance to skydive and so I told my parents that's what I wanted as my 16th birthday present," she told the News & Star. "They couldn't believe it at first. I don't think they were expecting it."

Mum Julie added: "She asked us how old you had to be to do a skydive and we said it was 16. She said, 'That's what I want for my birthday, then'. We thought she must be mad."

Imogen will travel to Cark Airfield in south Cumbria to complete the skydive, with plenty of her friends set to go along as well to watch her complete her epic jump.

"I think they'll want to make sure that I do it," she joked. "We're hiring a minibus and they're coming down to watch, it should be a lot of fun."

Looking forward to the big day, she said she expects to be nervous once the plane is in the air and it is time to jump. "It's going to be really frightening, I know that. The people I know who have done it before though have said once you do it once, you'll want to do it again."

Anyone who wishes to make a donation can do so by visiting Imogen's justgiving page - www.justgiving.com/Imogen-Dodd16