Hundreds of people celebrated St Elizabeth Hospice’s tenth Christmas Day Dip raising £40,000 for the local charity.
The Dip, which took place on Wednesday 25th December at Felixstowe beach, saw over 450 people celebrating ten years of thrills and chills.
Many of those taking part did so in memory of a loved-one, or to give something back to the Hospice where a friend or a relative was cared for.
Others took part with friends and family as an exhilarating way to begin the festivities on Christmas morning.
This year there was also DJ, Andy Storey, getting the dippers and crowd warmed up with some festive and classic dance tunes, and he got the party going by proposing to his girlfriend of five years, Denise Turner.
The Christmas Day Dip first took place ten years ago in supporter, Peter Burt’s, back garden with just seven people taking part and Mr Burt and his family still come along every year and are always the first into the sea and the last out..
St Elizabeth Hospice’s Events Fundraiser, Emily Sullivan, said: “We are so grateful to everyone who took part this year and raised sponsorship, helping mark the tenth anniversary of the Christmas Day Dip.
“Raising £40,000 is an incredible amount and will go a long way to helping us continue to improve life for people living with a progressive illness in East Suffolk and South Norfolk.”
Mrs Sullivan also thanked the local coastguard for overseeing the event, Mayor of Felixstowe Jan Garfield for attending, and all the volunteers who gave up their time on Christmas Day.
St Elizabeth Hospice is an independent charity which provides its services free of charge. The Hospice costs £9.1 million a year to run and relies on fundraising events such as the Christmas Day Dip, as well as donations and the income generated from its shops to meet the majority of those costs.
Pictures from the Christmas Day Dip are on our Facebook page. Click here to see them.