OVER £8,400 has been splashed out to help charities and good causes throughout the UK, thanks to Tenby’s record-breaking Boxing Day Swim.

Nearly 800 brave bathers took the plunge in the 2019 event– the highest number in the 49-year history of the fun festive highlight.

The grand total of £8,403.43 was raised through some magnificent individual fundraising efforts and the day’s bucket collection, with health causes very much to the forefront.

Two of the youngest fundraisers were eight-year-old Thomas Williams from Manchester, who raised £630 for the Royal Manchester Hospital, while seven-year-old Rory Noden from Neyland collected over £300 for the Wales Air Ambulance.

These included £1,210 for Velindre Hospital from Nigel Smith from Bridgend; £634 for Fight Bladder Cancer from Ria Pratty-Briggs of Pembroke Dock and £750 for Prostate Cancer from Amanda and Nicola Taylor from Stourbridge.

Victoria Walters from Tenby raised £260 for Hijink Theatre, with Alison Gillingham raising £260 for Paul Sartori and Victoria Dowding £253 to help in the fight against liver disease.

Mother and daughter Jess and Becky James from Chepstow collected £370 for Strike a Chord and Kev Jarvis from Cannock raised £750 for animal charity Saving Cavaliers.

Charities nominated by swim organisers, the Tenby Sea Swimming Association (TSSA) were the Tenby Talking Newspaper and Prostate Cymru, who have each received £150, with donations of £50 each to the organisations who helped with the smooth running of the event – Tenby RNLI, HM Coastguard, Pembrokeshire Paddlers, St John Ambulance, Tenby Air Cadets and Tenby Surflink.

The fancy dress theme for the event was Climate Change, which attracted Greta Thunberg lookalikes, a coral reef, displaced seals, penguins and polar bears, and even a Noah’s Ark.

The swim’s green credentials continued with the presentation of medals made out of wood, instead of the usual plastic.

Swim chairman Chris Osborne said: “From a huge beach and record turnout of 800 swimmers, the total raised has defied everything that has since happened and the extraordinary circumstances in which we currently live.

“We hope our daily lives will be substantially different to allow us to hold this year’s swim, our 50th.

“We look forward to making it the very special event is deserves to be.”