A paragliding daredevil, who vowed to hang up his chute after watching his best friend die in front of him, is taking to the skies again.

Andy Shaw had already lost his father and brother to parachuting accidents by the time his friend, Tony Eaton, fell to his death at Warren Barn, Woldingham, in September 2007.

But the 42-year-old former British Champion, of Station Road, Woldingham, is now pledging to take on the world after battling his personal demons.

Despite pleas from his mother, Lorraine, 71, for him to end his 30-year paragliding career, Andy is preparing for a return to the skies and targeting the paragliding world championships in Croatia in June.

He said: "It all changed after I watched my best friend die in front of me.

"You cannot truly understand other people when they say they're having a bad time until you've really hit rock bottom.

"I got to the stage where I thought 'that was that'. I couldn't do it anymore. I had lost some of the closest people through this sport.

"The nightmares didn't stop for months after Tony's accident, and I kept on thinking that I didn't want my boys to grow up without a father."

Tony, 46. was training for a paragliding competition when a gust of wind threw him into a hill, killing him.

Andy said: "I tried to carry on but it was so difficult. People were coming in and asking if there were any risks and I had just seen my best mate die a couple of weeks before. I just couldn't lie to them.

"The first time I was up in the air afterwards I was seeing the faces of my children and my friend and my father and I was thinking 'Andy, what the hell are you doing up here?'

"All I ever wanted is for my hobby to be my job. I knew that the first time I flew – it's an addiction, like a drug I need more and more.

"This is my life. I tried doing other jobs but this is it for me. I remember working as a lumberjack briefly last year. I was sitting at the top of the tree, looking up at the sky, and I thought that's where I belong."

He has been no stranger to tragedy, with his father Les, 66, dying at the paragliding British Championships in 1988.

To add to his woes, Andy lost his brother Mike, 32, in 1992, after a fatal crash in his championship glider.

Andy, who was World Paragliding Champion in 1987, and British Champion in 1984, has run the Green Dragons Paragliding Company from Warren Barn, Slines Oak Road, Woldingham, since 1994.

Despite his personal grief, he has no fears for his two children, Samson, nine, and Jason, eight, taking to the skies.

He added: "Jason's already got 21 solo flights under his belt.

"There's always a worry. But paragliding has given me so much joy, I want them to share in it."

For more information on paragliding visit www.greendragons.co.uk or call 01883 652 666.