Team Darcy: Chief Constable and PSCO to abseil Meldon Viaduct to raise money for charity
Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Debbie Hollinson will be taking on a 110-foot abseil alongside Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell to raise money in memory of her daughter Darcy who lost her life to suicide in 2021, at the tender age of seventeen.
PCSO Hollinson, who works in Plymouth City Centre for the neighbourhood police team, said: “Darcy was a very special girl - she was a beautiful, bubbly and a kind daughter and sister. Her death has had a far-reaching impact in the community, and it puts into perspective that suicide does not discriminate.
“It wasn’t long after her death that I decided I wanted to do something that could help spread wider awareness of the devastating impact of suicide, not only to help others with grief, but to potentially prevent others having to experience it themselves.
“Back in December last year, I asked Chief Constable Colwell if he would join #TeamDarcy and brave the abseil with me and a team of my friends and family – I was delighted that he agreed, didn’t hesitate! The abseil takes place on the third anniversary of us losing Darcy. It’s going to be tough, but we’re doing it #ForDarcy and for everyone who faces the same heartbreak, losing someone they love to suicide.”
The pair are doing the abseil in aid of the ‘Dragons Drop’ event hosted by Pete’s Dragons charity, on Sunday 14 April. The abseil is a 110-foot drop down Meldon Viaduct in Okehampton. Devon & Cornwall Police’s Chief Constable’s Foundation previously chose Pete’s Dragons as their Charity of the Year in 2023, donating £6000 at the end of the year which had all been raised from police staff and officers through internal fundraising events.
Chief Constable Jim Colwell said: “Debbie’s story is so powerful and inspirational. I am proud to be able to have the opportunity to join Debbie and her family in April to support their mission in raising awareness for such an important topic that touches so many lives, and to once again support Pete’s Dragons who do such amazing work.”
Pete's Dragons provides specialist support and advice for those affected by suicide in any way in Devon and North Somerset.
If anyone would like to support their abseil, they can go along to the event at the viaduct in Okehampton.
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