A BUDDHIST monk chose to conquer his fear of heights in style - by jumping out of a plane.

Not content with just jumping from a plane, Kelsang Tsangpa jumped from the highest possible distance legal in Britain of 15,000ft, plummeting to earth at speeds of 120mph in temperatures of -15C.

Kelsang runs classes in at the Friends Meeting House, in Silverwell Street, Bolton, every Wednesday on meditation and used his techniques to blank out his lifelong fear of heights.

He was joined by a nurse, a computer programmer, a fashion designer and a young mum who took to skies just clear of Manchester Airport's airspace.

The sponsored jump was to help raise £10,500 to build a tranquil garden and conservatory lounge at the Vairochana Buddhist Centre in Whalley Range.

The centre wants to give people a place to seek refuge from the day-to-day congestion of city living.

Kelsang became a Buddhist monk nine months ago and was ordained by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the founder of the movement, in the Lake District.

Kelsang said meditation was the key to him taking the plunge.

He said: "I'm absolutely petrified of heights. On the morning of the jump we did some meditation and it gave us some motivation to do the jump. We thought about why we were doing it and rather than focus on fear, we tried to use that to think about people experiencing fear who have no choice, like people in Iraq or British service people who do not know if there will be a war."

CHALLENGE: Kelsang Tsangpa