A fundraising group is on cloud nine after making a great leap in aid of a canine charity based near Alton.

Nine determined staff and volunteers have taken to the skies to raise money for Dogs for Autism as they completed skydives on successive weekends.

The fundraisers hope their freefalling exploits will raise around £2,500 – roughly a tenth of the cost of training one dog.

While that might equate to little more than the cost of a dog’s tail, the difference it can make to a person with autism is incalculable.

“It can be the difference between a child not going to school and being able to, or an adult not going to work and being able to,” said Jan Kiley, chief operating officer for the charity.

“A lot of the people we work with cannot leave the house alone, so are dependent on others. But they can leave the house with their dog.”

The training is intensive and enables the dogs to accompany someone with autism and sense when they are getting overwhelmed.

Jan continued: “They are trained to be able to take their person out of busy situations, they are alert to when someone is likely to have a meltdown or other emotional dysregulation.

“They can give deep-pressure therapy to help calm their person.”

The charity currently has 22 qualified and working dogs and a further 10 to 15 in earlier stages of training. Most are labradors or retrievers though there are smaller dogs such as cavapoos. “

These are particularly good for young adults who are gaining some independence,” said Jan.

“They can sit on laps on buses for instance.”

She added: “We aim to train 10 to 15 dogs a year but we have a massive waiting list. We simply cannot meet the demand.”

For further details visit dogsforautism.org.uk.