A daring churchgoer reached for the skies as a passenger on her first gliding trip aged 96.

Fearless adventurer Joey Warren did not let her age hold her back as she donned her helmet and enjoyed two taster flights over her West Dartmoor village in aid of her church hall.

Joey, of Buckland Monachorum, won the chance to fly in a church charity auction and immediately decided to ask for sponsorship so she could help Milton Combe Church upgrade its old heating.

She flew with Dartmoor Gliding Society, Brentor, and made two ascents on Saturday, June 21, having enjoyed the first so much.

Joey said: “It was so good being so high, though it was very hazy over Tavistock, so I couldn’t see much. I could see some of Mary Tavy and Peter Tavy. It was over so quickly, it would’ve been good to go up for longer.

“I went up for ten minutes on the first flight and when I came down, they asked me if I wanted to go up again. It was about ten minutes the first time and about 15 minutes the second. The weather was marvellous, not too much wind for gliding and lots of sun for seeing far.

“I enjoyed it hugely. I wasn’t frightened or worried. The gliding club was very helpful, everyone was really kind and made sure I was alright, which I was. I’d do it again sometime.”

Joey’s next task is to reclaim all her collecting boxes she has left in various public places for sponsorship.

The Rev Andy Bowden, the vicar of Buckland Monachorum and Milton Combe, said: “I’m immensely proud of Joey. She is a very active and popular member of our congregation. She’s very person-focussed and thinks of others, so she had no hesitation in thinking of ho she could help us, rather than herself. We are all very grateful to her and admire her energy and positive attitude to life and her community. She is a go example to us all in showing that age is no barrier to her adventurous spirit.”

The Rev Bowden added: “Very kindly, she’s been collecting sponsorship by putting her collecting boxes in various places and insists on collecting them all back again. It’s just all typically selfless of her. Nothing hols her back. Everyone at the Sunday service was talking to her about it and wanted to know how it went.”

This ambition appears to hold know fears for the widow who has previously sailed on her husband’s yacht and also joined him on underwater diving explorations before he passed away seven years ago.

Joey, who has spent 40 years supporting the RHS with magnolias, camellia and rhododendrons and was previously a secretarial teacher, said: “Everyone thinks I’m a bit mad going gliding at my advanced age, but I had complete confidence in my pilot and in the glider.”

Donations can be made via BACS transfer: Ref: MC Church Heating. Bank: Lloyds. Sort Code: 309668. Acc number: 04926266.