A VISUALLY-impaired woman from Wallasey pushed aside her fears and took the plunge with some of the most frightening giants of the deep in a bid to raise awareness and funds for Guide Dogs.

Lynette Proctor was joined by Kerry Singleton from Warrington when she took on the challenge to dive with sharks at the Blue Planet Aquarium on Monday.

The dive, which took place during the annual Guide Dogs Week, is part of Lynette and Kerry’s “Year of Fear” fundraising campaign, where they are taking on a range of fearsome charity challenges.

After undergoing full training, the guide dog users were sent into the water with specialist dive instructors Julie Vasey and Verity Byers, who were on hand throughout the experience to ensure everything went smoothly.

Until guide dog Pippa entered her life 18 months ago, 26-year-old Lynette was unable to leave the house on her own for two years, but Monday saw her conquer her fears.

She said: "I cannot even put into words how amazing the experience was. It has to have been one of the best things I have ever done. Having sharks, stingrays, eels and fish swim all around you and over your head, it was unreal.

“It would have in no way been as good if it had not have been for the incredible staff, especially Matt and Julie. They made us feel calm and relaxed and having sight loss was not seen as a barrier.

“They had done a blind fold dive themselves so they would know how to help us in the best possible way. They have now said they would love to teach us to scuba dive which has always been a dream of mine.”

Blue Planet Aquarium’s spectacular three-million litre Caribbean Reef display contains some real giants of the deep.

Among them are nurse sharks, lemon sharks, black and white tip reef sharks, zebra sharks, stingrays and of course, the famous sand tiger sharks.

In addition to the sharks and rays, the vast display is also home to around 1,500 fish including pufferfish, moray eels, trevally and triggerfish.

Lynette, who now faces her fears on a daily basis thanks to Pippa, added: “Before I had Pippa I used to have panic attacks all the time, but in the aquarium surrounded by sharks, apart from the fact I only had three hours of air in my tank, I could have stayed down there forever.”

You can donate to Kerry and Lynette’s fundraising challenge here.