‘DIPPERS’ of all ages, many wearing fancy dress or charity t-shirts waded chest deep into the incoming tide on a sunny but cold morning, led by bounding dogs and even some reticent ponies.

On Scarborough’s South Bay foreshore, a record crowd of more than 3,000 people turned out to watch nearly 100 swimmers brave the North Sea.

Swimmers, some of whom had travelled from Scotland and south England to take part in the challenge, dressed in an array of costumes, which included Miss Piggy and the National Elf Service.

The Northern Echo:

Alan Deacon, president of Scarborough Lions, said while the overcast weather and rise in temperature may have helped attract some of the crowds, said the careful planning, help of Scarborough Rowing Club and good viewpoints made it among the best events of its kind nationally.

He said more than 20 charities would benefit from funds raised at the event.

Mr Deacon said: “It is good fun watching those taking part going in with pristine costumes and coming out looking rather bedgraggled.

“Everyone got into the spirit of it – it has become the biggest event in Scarborough on New Year’s Day.

While bikinis appeared to be the must-have accessory for plucky plungers in Whitley Bay, pets were the favourite accompaniment on Teesside, with dogs joining their owners to raise money for Saltburn Animal Rescue Association (SARA).

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The youngest participant in Saltburn was eight-year-old Caitlin Herd from Coventry who had spent the Christmas holidays with her grandmother, Eileen Herd, one of six founding members of SARA, which has boosted its supporters to 300 since 1995.

“I was a bit nervous but it was very exciting,” said a grinning Caitlin Herd who took the stingingly cold start to the day in her young stride. “I did it a few days ago here and it was really cold. This time did it really quickly so it didn’t seem as bad, I think that was the trick.”

Ann Prosser, another of SARA’s founders who is chairman of its trustees said it had cared for around 3,000 animals over the past 19 years. “The New Year’s Day dip is a wonderful start to the year, we’ve held it for 15 years and the public has been behind us all the way.”

The Northern Echo:

An hour later and six miles up the coastline at Redcar a throng of jittery dippers emerged from their health and safety briefing and were led down the lifeboat ramp onto the sand by a familiar ‘sumo wrester’.

Two years ago organiser Ron Gordon donned an Uncle Fester costume and brought along his trusty sidekick Thing to test the North Sea in a bid to publicise the event.

His previous photo-calls have included eating creepy crawlies, being buried in sand while lobsters crawled around him, trying to stop the sea dressed as King Canute and trying to reach Norway in a bathtub.

“We do the dip because New Year is the most unpopular day of the year, the last thing you want to do is run into the North Sea,” said Mr Gordon who rallied his troops including paramedics and North Riding referees before they charged in after a group of ponies with children on their backs before they tucked into curry and rice laid on at O’Grady’s hotel nearby.

Mr Gordon said the main charity being supported at this year’s dip was CJD Network Support, to help the Bellerby family from Marton, Middlesbrough.

The Northern Echo:

Watched by his father Reg, Adam Bellerby, 28, endured subzero temperatures to raise funds for the leading UK charity for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare and fatal condition affecting the brain which his mother Anna, 59, suffers from.

Along with Adam’s brother, Russell, they have raised £2,500 so far to be shared between CJD Network and ward 25 at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where Mrs Bellerby is being looked after.

“There’s no chance of recovery,” explained Reg Bellerby, 58. “I say it’s a one in a million chance of getting this illness but she did not have to prove it. Coming to the dip has all been about doing something positive.”