BRAVE bathers dressed as dames and princes, ugly sisters and fairies are all set to star in Tenby’s most famous festive production - the town’s annual Boxing Day Swim.

Oh yes, they are, as the fancy dress theme for this year’s dip is Pantomime.

Now in its 43rd year, and organised by the Tenby Sea Swimming Association, the event attracts hundreds of entrants and huge crowds of spectators.

And swimmers will be giving a helping hand to a number of good causes through their efforts - not least the four chosen by Tenby Sea Swimming Association, which organises the plunge.

These are Skanda Vale Hospice; the Rudy Trust; the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) charity and the District Brownies Centenary Appeal.

Skanda Vale, near Llandysul, has just been awarded planning permission for a six-bedroomed inpatient unit.

Said a spokesman: “South west Wales has one of the greatest needs for hospice care in the whole of the Uk, but at the moment, there are no inpatient respite or end-of-life hospices anywhere in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion or Carmarthenshire.”

The Rudy Trust has been set up to help little Rudy Cole, born with a genetic condition, and who needs therapies difficult to access on the NHS to improve his quality of life. His father, Matthew, is an ex-pupil of Tenby’s Greenhill School, and his grandparents, Derek and Eirwen Cole, are well-known in the area.

The EDS charity has been chosen by TSSA because the rare and incurable genetic condition affects the life of 18-year-old local girl Beth Morse, whose uncle, Dai Roberts, organises Tenby’s sister swim in the USA.

The Brownies appeal will help youngsters in the Tenby, Saundersfoot, Penally and Narberth areas to join in the centenary celebrations of the organisation.

Swimmers can also collect for their own charities and good causes.

The Tenby Boxing Day Swim takes place on the North Beach, Tenby, with beach fun getting underway at 11am before the plunge at 11.30am. Swimmers are then presented with comemmorative medals around a warming bonfire.

FBM Holidays and Lewis, Lewis & Co have been joined as event sponsors this year by Princes Gate Spring Water.

For more information, or to download a sponsor form, visit www.tenbyboxingdayswim.co.uk