Over 650 crazy charity swimmers who took to the water in Tenby at Christmas have helped to raise the serious sum of £9,611 for good causes.

They splashed out in the 47th Tenby Boxing Day Swim, where the fancy dress theme of comic characters brought out the Bash Street Kids, Smurfs and superheroes galore, with a guest appearance by none other than Donald Trump.

A record-breaking bucket collection of £2,352 helped the swim organisers, Tenby Sea Swimming Association, make donations of £1,000 each to the event’s nominated charities - the Harriet Davis Trust and PATCH.

The Trust provides holiday houses for disabled children and their families in the Tenby area, and founders John and Kit Davis were there at the swim’s presentation evening on Friday to receive the cheque.

“We are currently refurbishing our Giltar View property in Tenby so this will be a marvellous help,” said Mrs. Davis.

PATCH co-ordinator Tracy Olin was also delighted with her charity’s £1,000.

“The months after Christmas are our scariest time, so the timing of this could not be better,” she said.

Further donations of £50 were made to the event’s safety cover providers - Tenby RNLI, St John Cymru Wales, Tenby Coastguards, Pembrokeshire Paddlers, Tenby Sea Cadets and Tenby Surflink.

Swimmers were also able to collect for their own chosen causes, and the highest individual sum of £1,326 was raised by Megan Macro for Candy Cane Rescue, which saves greyhounds from the meat trade in China.

Once again, the Goscar Oscar for the highest group total went to Skanda Vale, who raised £940 for their new six-bedroomed hospice - the only in-patient facility of its kind for Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

The Daitanic Raft Race award in memory of Dai Rees was won by Team Rees, while Sara Davies from the Pembrokeshire Paddlers won the kayak race.

Pic. Gareth Davies Photography