FOOTBALL fever was blamed for foiling a bid to raise record funds for charity during an annual Boxing Day dip yesterday.

About £40,000 was raised for 55 good causes by last year's Boxing Day Dip at Hartlepool - £15,000 up on the previous year.

But organisers Hartlepool Lions expect yesterday's event to have raised about £1,800.

More than 700 people had registered to plunge into the North Sea at Seaton Carew.

But only 400 entered the water - 30 minutes before Hartlepool United kicked off its biggest match of the season at Victoria Park against Leeds United.

Hartlepool Lions Club president Mike Dowson said: "I think it was down to the Hartlepool Leeds kick-off at noon, plus there were rumours flying around on the Internet of Leeds fans threatening violence on the beach against Manchester United fans living in the area, which will have put people off.

"We assume that this year's numbers were considerably lower due to the football match.

"We closed registration on December 15, with 713 registered for the dip.

"It would have been a record turn out by a long, long way, so we feel a little bit down. We put in a lot of hard work.''

Two teams out of the 400 people who went into the water took canoes with them, inspired by the disappearance for five-and-a-half years of Seaton Carew resident John Darwin, last seen in 2002 pushing off Seaton Carew beach in his kayak.

Darwin, who walked into a London police station at the beginning of the month faces fraud charges, along with his wife, Anne.

At Redcar, 450 people went into the sea, more than double last year, when more than £10,000 was raised for charities.

Middlesbrough Teesside Lions Club president Chris Taylor said yesterday's event saw a "fantastic'' turn out, with crowds lining the streets down to the seafront and the promenade as far as the eye could see.

An estimated £63,201 was raised for charity by participants in the 33rd Boxing Day charity dip at Seaburn, near Sunderland.

A total of 794 people took to the chilly North Sea at 11am, in the Sunderland Lions Club-run event, which is thought to be one of the biggest charity dips in Europe.

Many donned fancy dress, including Messika Stirling, 23, from Fulwell, Sunderland, who dipped as a sexy sailor.

She was raising money for the Great North Air Ambulance, whose staff rescued her after she broke her back in a quad biking accident.

Anne Fielding, one of the dip organisers, said: "The fancy dress was absolutely superb this year.

"It's amazing the effort people out in.

"We feel they do it one year and they're already planning what they're doing the following year.

"It was tremendous - absolutely wonderful.

"It was a wonderful atmosphere and a lot of charities are going to benefit.

"The weather wasn't bad at all. Obviously, the sea would be cold, but we've had it much colder."