Christmas Day swimmers dive into freezing British waters for charity

Swimmers raising money for charity dressed up as Santa, snowpeople and elves

(Steve Parsons/PA)

Seven years ago, six people charged into the sea at Boscombe Pier in Bournemouth.

This year, around 600 made the now-traditional dash on Christmas morning in order to raise tens or thousands of pounds for a Macmillan Cancer unit, with thousands more remaining on the beach to watch the spectacle.

“It started seven years ago with just six of us. We all charged in on the spur of the moment just for a bit of fun and it’s spiralled out of control from there,” organiser Tom Baker told the Bournemouth Echo.

Those raising money for charity dressed up as Santa, snowpeople and elves. The inspiration for the event was Tom’s uncle, John White, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2008.

Also on the beach taking a festive dip were Bournemouth Spartans, who have marked Christmas Day every year since 1951 by heading into the icy water for a swim.