THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised by an intrepid group of volunteers in the latest effort to help a child with a rare genetic condition.
And Florence Croce’s local MP, Andrew Gwynne, faced his fears with some helpful words from political rival Jacob Rees-Mogg ringing in his ears.
A total of 16 people, including the seven-year-old’s mother Jenny, braved the world’s fastest zip wire, Velocity2 in north Wales.
The weather was definitely against them, with wind and rain making the descent in Snowdonia even more daunting.
But Andrew managed to complete it after receiving some advice from the Conservative benches in the House of Commons.
And so far, more than £2,600 has been raised for Florence, who suffers from Late-infantile Gangliosidosis (GM1), a disorder which affects just one person in 250,000, progressively destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and currently has no known cure.
Mr Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, told him: “It’s enormously exciting. It really is the most exhilarating thing to do.
“Just lie back and enjoy it and they run it extraordinarily well, it’s very safe.
“I think all of us find the greatest pride when we campaign on issues like this for people like Florence to try and help them when they have a terrible disease and there may be something that can help them.
“I’m probably not allowed to say this but I wish him every success in his campaign to get a treatment for GM1 and to get the appropriate support from the Department of Health and Social Care.”
Come the day and ‘Team Florence’ all managed the one-and-a-half kilometre zip wire, watched by the young girl herself.
Fellow fundraiser Massimino Malacrino said: “The weather was ferocious, with rain and wind in our faces of speeds over 60mph.
But everyone overcame their fears and Team Florence delivered.”