AN INTREPID student grabbed the attention of shocked passers-by in York when she walked across a suspended tightrope over the River Foss.

Slacklining fan Sarah Rixham, who is studying a PhD at The University of York, tied the tightrope to railings on either side of the river near Rowntree Wharf, in Navigation Road.

People watched with a mixture of awe and fear from the bridge next to Rowntree Wharf and along the side of the river, as Sarah crossed from one side to the other several times.

Slacklining is the activity or sport of walking or balancing on a rope or strip of webbing that is fixed high above the ground

Sarah, who is originally from Sheffield, said: "I'm doing it for training and for fun. I have been doing this for about seven years."

The daredevil slackliner says she still gets nervous when she starts walking along the tightrope.

She explained: "To start with it's always nerve-racking. But once you get used to it, it just goes away and you start to have fun. It's learning to control your feelings and being able to focus."

The 25-year-old says she likes to do slacklining all over Europe and is training for slacklining shows.

The sport is becoming "more and more popular," according to Sarah, who is a member of a group called York Slacklining.

Merilyn Godfrey, an onlooker who watched Sarah walk above the River Foss, says she was worried when she saw her climb over the railings.

She said: "When I saw her climb over the walkway I thought she was going to jump. But then I noticed the wire and saw her walking across. She did it a few times. There were quite a few people watching her on the bridge."