AN EX-RAF man is soaring back into the skies for a parachute jump he never thought would happen.

Nik Frampton’s weight ballooned to more than 20 stone after leaving the service 13 years ago.

But now he has managed to shed five stone so he can once again take to the skies to raise money for former colleagues wounded while in the Armed Forces.

The 40-year-old, who is now IT manager at Colchester’s Mercury Theatre, said: “I’ve still got a lot of friends in the military and I wanted to do something for a charity that is doing a lot of great work for the blokes. I did static line jumps in the RAF and always wanted to go that bit higher and do a skydive.

“Now I’ve got my weight under 15 stone I can.”

Nik, of Chapel Road, West Bergholt, began losing weight after having an operation last October to treat a bone problem in his knee.

He said: “When I went in for the pre-op I stood on the scales and nearly had a heart attack – I was 20st 4lb and realised I had to do something about it.”

He has shed the pounds by following the WeightWatchers programme and getting on his bike, stretching his journey in to work to 15 miles some days.

Along the way Nik has given himself incentives, including a “fabulous” track day in a Lotus sports car after going below 16 stone.

He added: “You need to keep chipping away at your weight in stages and set yourself little targets and treats as you go.

“I’m determined to keep getting my weight down, but I don’t know what my next challenge will be, maybe a 100-mile bike ride for charity.”

He will be jumping with the Parachute Regiment’s Red Devils display team at Langar airfield, in Nottinghamshire, on October 1, raising money for military charity Help for Heroes.

To sponsor Nik, visit www.bmycharity.com/nik frampton