Little swim raises thousands for Belle's Story

The new year’s swim has been running for around 20 years, always raising money for either a local charity or one important to someone in the village.

This year’s chosen charity was Belle’s Story, a local charity set up by Belle Curran and her family to raise money for organisations helping children with life-limiting conditions and to raise awareness of organ donation.

Belle lost her fight with interstitial lung disease in April last year, while on the waiting list for a double lung transplant. Her family and friends are continuing to fundraise in her memory.

Vivienne Latimer Grey, one of the organisers of the event, said: “We wanted to do a children’s charity this year and Belle’s Story was one that struck a chord with everyone.

“[The swim] has been going almost 20 years, we have donated to people like Macmillan and Get the Boys a Lift in the past. We try to make them personal to people in the village or make them a local charity.

“We think there was about 200 swimmers, it’s not on the scale of Tenby or Saundersfoot, but we have people who come down every year.

“One group that comes we call them the Crochet Gang, they always bring a donation of about £300.

Ms Grey said the swim raised £1,840 for the charity.

“As a village, with a small amount of effort we can make a difference, that’s why we do it,” she added.

To find out more search for Belle’s Story on Facebook.