KNEE-KNOCKINGLY, palm-sweatingly, bowel-evacuatingly scary and that was just the lift up the tower.

I am writing of course about my lunatic stunt to raise money for the Angel of the Skies - abseiling off the air traffic control tower at East Midlands Airport.

About 25 of us took part in the death-defying plummet from the top of the building, 170ft straight down with nothing but a rather tired looking piece of rope to keep us from meeting our maker.

I watched the chief executive of the airport, Penny Coates come down first, which half put my mind at ease and half made me realise what an awful idea this was.

When she made it to terra firma, and after being mugged by a scrum of TV reporters, I asked her what it was like.

Penny said: "Initially it was really scary. Going over the edge is absolutely terrifying. But it was all for a good cause and in the end I started to enjoy it. But I have to say it was quite nice when I got to the bottom.

"I've raised about £1,000 doing this which is excellent because the air ambulance is such an important service."

So, no bother at all.

A succession of staff came down, one or two looking rather pale, making me feel like I was waiting for an exam.

Albeit an exam with rather serious consequences if I failed. And then it was my turn.

I was taken to the top and, with Barbara Parish, fundraising manager for the charity, Dr Stuart Maitland-Knibb and paramedic Dylan Griffin from the air ambulance, we were led through a very small door to the outside.

I have to admit, at this point I really thought I wasn't going to be able to go through with it and even Stuart an RAF doctor, was beginning to look nervous.

But Barbara was up first and she boldly climbed over the barrier and edged over the precipice.

We cheered her on as she walked down the wall and then, sooner than I had hoped, it was my turn.

As I wobbled over the side, I mentioned I was a journalist and I was doing it for the story.

Somebody, and I was too nervous to notice who, told me I needn't be worried, this was much safer than reporting in Afghanistan.

But I work in Melton Mowbray! And then, to add to my fear, Stuart said he would rather be in Afghanistan than abseiling.

And I was off, slipping and sliding down the wall, over the window where Penny was waving and cheering me on and then, nothing.

The wall disappears and you are held up by the slimmest of ropes.
My sweaty, shaky palms struggled to control the line as it fed through my harness disturbingly quickly.

Half-way down I thought to myself: "I'm almost enjoying this" and before I knew it I was reunited with the earth, ever so grateful to the abseiling team for keeping me in one piece.

A slightly white Barbara came over and we shakily congratulated ourselves on a successful descent.

She told me how her gloves became tangled up with the line and how she got a bit stuck, but she was beaming.

She said: "I'm so pleased I did it, but never again. But we can't stop here, the next step is to keep raising money. If anybody can come up with an idea as crazy as this one, let us know."

GRAVITY: Reporter Ben Truslove hanging by the seat of his pants while abseiling down the air traffic control tower at East Midlands Airport PHOTO: JIM HARRISON
RELIEF: Chief executive of the airport Penny Coats, after reaching the ground PHOTO: JIM HARRISON