WHILE most people in the North-East will be spending Boxing Day recovering from the excesses of the day before, some hardy people will be taking a quick dip in the North Sea - and it is all for charity.

Boxing Day dips, which have become a firm part of many people's Christmas celebrations, will be taking place at Sunderland, Redcar and Whitby this year.

It is the 27th time the event has been held at Sunderland. All of the dippers wear fancy dress as they brave the icy waters, withprizes awarded for the best costumes.

The event has become so large that the police close the roads, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution provides a rescue craft at sea, the St John Ambulance attend and the city council maintains crowd control.

The Seaburn Centre is used as a base for the event and the Mayor and Mayoress of Sunderland lead out the dippers.

Last year, there were 1,104 applications for places although only 677 turned up. The event raised more than £26,000 for 59 charities.

So far this year, there have been more than 800 applications to join in the fun.

The event in Redcar will be extra special this year because it follows the amalgamation of the Redcar and District Lions Club and the Middlesbrough Teesside Lions Club, the main organisers of the fun.

A parade of dippers - headed by the club presidents and the mayor and mayoresses of both Redcar and Cleveland, and Middlesbrough - will leave the sea front pub, Leo's, at 11am and make their way gingerly to the water's edge.

The dippers will receive two thirds of the money they raise for the charity of their own choice while the remaining third will be put to the Middlesbrough Teesside Lions Club Charity Account, to be distributed to local charities.