An 83-year-old fundraiser is planning to abseil down the TT Grandstand tower in aid of the Live At Home charity.

Bob Leith, who lives in Laxey, will be making the descent from the top of the tower at 10am on Sunday.

Due to an impressive string of fundraising challenges in recent years, he is known as ’Super Bob’ by his friends at the charity.

At the age of 80 he raised £1,525 for Live At Home by swimming 80 lengths of the National Sports Centre pool and in 2016 abseiled down Maughold Head raising £2,650 for Isle of Man charities, including Live at Home.

The sponsored abseil down the TT Tower will be in memory of his wife Christine who sadly passed away just before Christmas 2018. She was a loyal Live At Home supporter, and all monies raised will be used to help fund the social groups and befriending relationships that Live at Home provide across the Island to help prevent social isolation and loneliness in the older population. Bob says that when he mentioned the abseil to his family they were in total agreement that it would be a fitting tribute to a courageous woman.

Bob, who has artificial hip and knee joint replacements in both legs and suffers from osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, says he will make it down the TT Grandstand Tower OK as long as he can climb over the railings at the top.

Jackie Bridson, chief executive of Live at Home, said the fundraising challenge was a fitting tribute to Bob’s wife, who was a staunch supporter of the charity.

Jackie said: ’Bob has done some amazing feats to raise much needed funds for Live at Home and this will be a truly spectacular one for which we are extremely grateful. As a person with a fear of heights I take my hat off to him for his endeavours, and to add to this the fact he has new hips and knees he is truly "Super Bob" in my eyes.’

Donations and sponsorship to be sent to Live at Home, The Mike Hailwood Centre, Glencrutchery Road, Douglas IM2 6DA.

Cheques should be made payable to Live at Home. Or you can donate via Bob’s justgiving page.

Live At Home helps 600 older people across the island to live independently. It relies on fundraising and sponsorships, and every year needs to raise £175,000 to run the services it provides. The charity recently launched a ’Let’s Beat Loneliness’ campaign encouraging everyone in the community to do more to tackle what is a growing social issue among older people.

Anyone can get involved by sharing their support via social media using the hashtags #beatloneliness #keeptalking #keeplistening or #keepvisiting and #keepsharing, or by supporting the charity’s work as a fundraiser or volunteer, or simply deciding to call in on an elderly neighbour living alone.

If you need more information about Live At Home, or are interested in other fundraising activities or volunteering, phone 616571 or email [email protected]

You can also find out more at www.liveathome.im or find the charity on Facebook by searching for ’Isle of Man Live At Home’.