Former US President George Bush Sr has jumped out of a plane to mark his 85th birthday.

Mr Bush made the tandem jump from 3200m (10,500ft) with Sergeant 1st Class Mike Elliott of the US Army's Golden Knights parachute team, before landing safely near his home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

The ex-president also celebrated his 75th and 80th birthdays with a skydive and says he plans to do the same again when he turns 90.

He said he jumped to experience the exhilaration of free-falling and to show that the elderly can remain active and do fun things.

All five of Bush's children, including former President George W Bush, were there, along with 14 grandchildren, two brothers and a sister.

Bush's first parachute jump came when his plane was shot down over the Pacific in 1944 during the Second World War. He bailed out at 450m (1,500ft) after a bombing mission over ChiChi Jima. His two crewmates died.

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.