THOUSANDS of thrill seekers braved the icy sea for Boxing Day dips across the region.
Organised events staged up and down the North-East coast saw dippers take the plunge in the name of charity.
Dips included the 45th annual Sunderland Boxing Day Dip which was held at Seaburn and saw daredevils head to sea dressed to the nines.
Festive elves, magical mermaids and flapper girls were greeted by spectators who flocked to cheer on those taking part.
The event was organised by Sunderland Lions Club and every year sees people of the North-East dress up in all manner of fancy dress, take a dip in the North Sea, raise money for charity and blow the Christmas cobwebs away.
Other dips took place at Longsands in Tynemouth, South Shields, Newbiggin and one of the biggest in the region was at Seaham near Sunderland - which saw 351 people take the plunge.
A dipper at the Seaham Boxing Day Dip yesterday Picture: Alex Chandy
Alex Chandy of the East Durham Round Table, which runs the Seaham Boxing Day Dip said: "What a year and what a triumph for the dippers. This year was one of our biggest years due to the fact we pre-sold tickets online for the first time. It was probably one of the coldest as well. That certainly didn’t stop anyone. We had Santa, Darth Vader, Teletubbies and so many more run in.
"A lot of people stayed in for a good five minutes and I promise you, it’s very tough to stay in for 10 seconds. There’s been a great amount of money raised for so many different charities and all of the money we made, will go straight back into the East Durham community.
"Everyone at Round Table would like to thank all those that came to dip and spectate."
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