Hospital staff cheer for 97-year-old wing walker

The world's oldest female wing-walker says she was "gobsmacked" by the warm welcome she received when she delivered a cheque to the hospital where she was treated for a stroke.

Betty Bromage, 97, broke her own world record when she completed the wing walk last month.

She raised £4,350 for Cheltenham General Hospital's stroke unit, where staff cared for her when she was sick. She was welcomed with a round of applause when she delivered the cheque on Wednesday.

"It was absolutely amazing. Gobsmacked is the expression. I don't know what I've done to deserve it, really," Betty said.

Having completed six wing walks since the age of 87, Betty, who lives in Cheltenham, has gained fans around the world.

She began wing-walking as a way to challenge herself, previously saying: "I'd just get bored of life otherwise."

"I never knew it was going to end up this way, I just did it for fun," she said.

Speaking about life after her world record, she said: "There's so many phone calls and so many congratulations and things."

"It's unbelievable, really. Everybody seems to want a little bit of me."

She heard her challenge had been covered on TV in Norway, and she was even asked to take a selfie with people in her hometown, "which I thought was hilarious", she said.

"It's just not me, really. I'm not that sort of person, but it's difficult to get used to."

After having a stroke in August last year, which still affects her speech, Betty decided to take on her latest wing walk challenge to raise money for the stroke ward.

"They cared for me very, very well, and it was my way of showing appreciation," she said.

"What an amazing challenge, Betty's an absolute inspiration to us all," said Richard Smith, associate director of Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity.

"And what a fantastic way to say thank you to the staff who cared for her."

"Thanks to her support, we can fund brilliant items like artwork on wards, reminiscence therapy, and in this case, we're redeveloping a new garden area, which patients can access and they can take part in gardening," said Smith.

Dr Kate Hellier, consultant stroke physician at Cheltenham Hospital, said Betty had "brought a great deal of joy to staff".

"The job can be quite tough, and Betty knows this, having been a nurse herself. And this has been so uplifting to us all," she said.

Betty, who said she had "never been really scared of anything", plans to do another wing walk when she turns 100.

"If I'm as fit as I am now, I'd go and do it tomorrow," she said.

"I will do it again when I'm 100, but I'll hide then."

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