Kathleen Peacock looked down at the 200ft drop and felt a shiver running through her body.

But it was excitement rather than fear that gripped her as, at the age of 57, she faced the challenge of her first abseil.

Harnessed to a rope, the daredevil gran climbed over the edge of the mighty Baitings Dam at Ripponden and made her way down the steep slope. As she looked out over miles of surrounding woodland, Kathleen's thoughts were with her sister, Dorothy.

It was Dorothy's battle with kidney disease that had inspired Kathleen and two generations of her family to sign up for the sponsored abseil, held last weekend at the Baitings Reservoir dam.

Between them Kathleen, her daughter Samantha, 31, and her grandson Joshua, 12, from Woodside, Bradford, raised £400 for Kidney Research UK from the stunt.

"It was the first time any of us had done an abseil," says Kathleen, who works in the TV Heaven gallery at the National Media Museum in Bradford. "My sister has had diabetes for years which led to kidney problems a couple of years ago. She hasn't reached the stage where she needs dialysis but she may need more help in the future.

"It has made me more aware of the difficulties people with kidney disease face on a daily basis, and I wanted to do something to help.

"My daughter suggested doing a sponsored abseil and I thought, Why not?' I started raising money from sponsorship and I felt more and more nervous as the abseil approached. I was even more nervous when I got to the top of the dam and saw how far down I'd be going! But I knew it was something I really wanted to do."

An instructor showed Kathleen what to do before she took the plunge. "He took a few minutes showing me how to feed the ropes through as I went down," she says. "I was attached to an anchor rope so I felt safe, but it was still a long way down!"

Then Kathleen started making her way down the mighty drop - and had the time of her life. So much so that she did it again! "I absolutely loved it," she beams. "It took about five minutes to go down and I wanted to do it again straight away so they let me do another one. I could have carried on doing it all afternoon!

"It was amazing to be so high up, it felt like I was suspended in the air. The view was fabulous, I could have stayed up there for ages. The adrenaline rush was out of this world. I had such a great feeling of achievement when I got to the bottom."

Kathleen is so fired up by her experience that she's keen to do more daredevil stunts. "I really want to do a tandem sky dive," she says. "I'd love to try white water rafting too, and I'm looking into doing another abseil for Kidney Research UK down Guy's Hospital in London which is a 450ft drop! I'd never done anything like this before but now I know what I can achieve if I'm brave enough to have a go.

"I turned 58 this week and now I'm thinking I wish I'd tried this kind of thing years ago. I'm lucky that I'm in good health and I'm keen to try as many new ventures as possible. I'd like to keep on raising funds for Kidney Research UK. It's great to know you're helping a good cause."

Kathleen's daughter Samantha Meakin wasn't so keen on her abseiling experience. "Mum loved it but I was traumatised!" she laughs. "I'm glad I've done it but I'm never doing it again. Josh enjoyed it too but it was Mum who really got into it. She's got the daredevil bug now - there's no stopping her!"

Kathleen, Samantha and Joshua joined a total of 120 men, women and children descending Baitings Dam last Sunday. The 7th annual abseil organised by Kidney Research UK at the beauty spot, it is thought to have raised around £15,000 to fund research into kidney disease.

According to the charity, kidney disease is not, as is commonly thought, a disease that affects only elderly people. It can occur at any age. Treatment options include a transplant, for which there is a long waiting list, or a life on dialysis which can severely restrict daily life.

Founded in 1961, Kidney Research UK funds research into the prevention, treatment and management of kidney disease. The charity is also dedicated to improving patient care and raising awareness of kidney disease.

"Important scientific breakthroughs are being made all the time and medical researchers are constantly developing improvements in treatments," says a spokesman. "However, problems still remain and scientific advances can only be sustained, and improved, if we succeed in raising our income - and for that we need your help."

  • For more information ring 0845 070 7601 or visit www.kidneyresearch.org