MUM Adrienne Wilsdon braved heavy rain to abseil 100ft for Oxford Children's Hospital where her daughter is receiving treatment for a rare illness.

The 41-year-old nursery nurse was one of about 80 people taking part in the daring challenge yesterday at the John Radcliffe Hospital's women's centre, for Oxford Radcliffe Hospital's Charitable Funds.

She was joined by her mother Sue Hewer, 63, and her uncle Charlie Hewer, 55, and they all successfully completed the challenge to raise about £1,300 for the children's hospital.

After completing the abseil Mrs Wilsdon said: "The worst bit was going over the edge but it was better than I thought it was going to be - I'm really proud we have all done it."

Mr Hewer said: "It was brilliant - I got a real buzz out of it - the last time I did an abseil I was 16 and in the Royal Artillery."

Mrs Wilsdon's daughter Charlotte, 11, was perfectly healthy until earlier this year when she began to lose her appetite and started complaining of aching joints.

Following a series of X-rays the Witney schoolgirl was diagnosed with Langerhan’s cell histiocytosis – a cancer-like condition that requires up to two years of chemotherapy.

Mrs Wilsdon, who lives with husband Carl, 44, Charlotte and her sister Ellie, 15, said: "Charlotte has been having chemotherapy and we come to the hospital quite regularly.

"The staff here are wonderful - they make everything a lot easier.

"Charlotte has never had anything like this before - at first we thought it was growing pains."

Charlotte, a pupil at The Henry Box School, said she was "proud" of her family and liked the friendly staff at the hospital.

Among others completing the abseil were Christina Jones, 23, who works for oncology consultants at the Churchill Hospital, and her colleagues Ellie Burke and Abbie Glover.

Miss Jones said: "An email went round the hospitals asking people to join in and we thought 'why not'?

"I have done a skydive before but I found the abseil even more scary - I guess I'm a bit of a thrillseeker."

Money from the abseil will go towards medical equipment for children at the hospital, play specialists, toys and games.

Funds were also raised for the Silver Star Society, which supports mums through complicated pregnancies, the Oxford Eye Hospital, and the Adult Emergency Assessment Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Charitable Funds spokeswoman Sarah Vaccari said: "There are two abseils every year and in total they raise about £60,000 for hospital causes.

"People who take part are incredibly brave and we get a very good mix of patients, families and staff coming along to raise thousands of pounds."