Aunt conquers Spinnaker Tower abseil for cherished 11-month-old nephew with SMA

Emotions were running high for an aunt over the weekend after raising more than £1,000 for her nephew by completing an abseil challenge.

Cheering was all Chloe Hopwood could hear while suspended 100 metres in the air as she abseiled down Spinnaker Tower on Saturday, April 18 to raise money for her nephew, Coby, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) at six weeks old.

Coby was born at QA Hospital on May 27, 2025, where he spent a stint in intensive care due to a lack of oxygen during birth, before going home with parents, Luke Hopwood and Charlotte Homan, from Portchester.

The couple noticed he was not feeding properly, prompting them to visit the doctors where it was revealed Coby had Type 1 SMA - a life-limiting disease that causes progressive muscle wasting and weakness due to the loss of motor neurons.

Coby, who has the most severe type of SMA, underwent gene therapy treatment in Bristol last August which aims to replace the missing or non-working gene, but tests indicated his condition was declining.

As a result, the 28-year-old, from Gosport, decided to raise money for Coby by completing the abseil to ensure he has access to equipment and activities that will help with her nephew’s day-to-day life.

Chloe, who is Luke’s older sister, previously said: “It’s heart wrenching not knowing the right things to say knowing you can’t help. As his aunt, I wanted to do something that would support the family. There is nothing you can do to take this away but we want to try our best to help them.”

She continued: “I was shaking, I was so scared and I didn’t actually feel that nervous until I was at the top looking over the edge and seeing what I was about to go down, but I was excited at the same time because I knew I was doing it for a good reason and I wanted to do something different. There was definitely a lot of hesitation to let go at the start of it but as soon as I knew I was safe it was a phenomenal experience.

“I wasn’t even halfway down and I could hear between 10 and 20 people shouting my name, saying I could do it. I couldn’t believe the amount of people that turned up to cheer me on.

“It was incredible to see people that don’t even know us as a family show us their support. My brother ran up to me and gave me a big hug - I was shaking when I came down. I think it was the adrenaline and seeing everyone supporting me.

“Coby was there with a smile on his face when I finished. He was my little mascot.”

Chloe’s fundraiser has reached £1,270 - For more information about the fundraiser, click here.