Man 'flies like an eagle' for 93rd birthday

A man has completed a zipline challenge for charity for his 93rd birthday.

Charles Wylie told the BBC he had "great fun" on the zip wire in Brighton, East Sussex.

"Now I know what an eagle must feel like when it's swooping down on its prey," he said.

Wylie, a former naval officer, abseiled down Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth for his 92nd.

For his 90th, he jumped out of a plane.

"It's all to do with a positive attitude of mind," Wylie told the BBC. "I've seen [people] get unwell and, with a negative attitude of mind, they just go downhill.

"With a positive attitude, you can get through anything."

Wylie said he did the zipwire challenge, alongside his other feats, to raise money for the charity Alzheimer's Research.

"It is a most hideous disease," he said.

Wylie said it had been "heartbreaking" watching his wife Jean of nearly 70 years cope with Alzheimer's for more than a decade.

"I thought I could do something," he added.

The 93-year-old told the BBC he had raised more than £40,000 for the charity, with more donations coming in.

Wylie, who joined the Royal Navy in 1948, fought in the Korean War.

He rose through the ranks to command warships.

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