A Huntingdon teenager who completed a sky dive to raise funds for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) has described the experience as ‘absolutely epic’.

Anastacia Aldrich, aged 17, carried out the jump for the charity which has provided her and her family with information and emotional support since she was diagnosed with auto-immune hepatitis when she was 12.

"I was keen to give something back to CLDF and a sky dive was the perfect challenge for me as it's something I've always wanted to do," she said.

"The event completely lived up to expectations. It was just fantastic - I would 100 per cent do it again and I'm particularly proud to have smashed my £1,000 fundraising target," added Anastacia.

Alison Taylor, chief executive of Children's Liver Disease Foundation, said: "We are so proud of Anastacia, both for being brave enough to do the sky dive and doing so brilliantly with her fundraising. We're delighted it was a fantastic experience for her."

Speaking ahead of the skydive, which took place on July 21, Anastacia described the impact being diagnosed with a rare condition at 12 had on her, and the support the charity provided.

She said: "It's very tough being diagnosed with a rare lifelong condition at that age. So many people just have no idea what you are going through. However, CLDF was there for me and put me in touch with other young people who live with liver disease. "I even joined them for a film-making workshop last year with other teenagers. I not only met other people who understood me, but I was able to show my film at school to explain what it's like to live with liver disease.

"The team were also there for my parents. I think it was just as tough for them and I know that my mum in particular appreciated a calm and reassuring voice on the end of the phone when she was having a bad day."

To date, Anastacia has raised £1,046, beating the £1,000 target she set ahead of the event.

You can still support Anastacia's sky dive by logging on to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anastacia-aldrich.