THE twenty year tradition of taking a dip into bitterly cold water to welcome the New Year in Hatherleigh was retold through a parade of previous year's themes and costumes on Monday. To mark the anniversary, the Hatherleigh Walruses invited everyone who has ever taken part to join in an Olympic Games style parade, with around 70 former dippers accepting the challenge. Thirty-two brave individuals took part in the dip itself into the chilly waters of the River Lew in Hatherleigh. Sandra Collier from Hatherleigh was one of four people present who has been involved with the dip since the outset. She said: 'It went very well. We were a bit worried beforehand that we would not make it because the river has been swollen for a few weeks, but in the end, it was all right. There was a sneaky wind, so it was fairly cold, but not the coldest one we have known.' Sandra said to mark the achievement of making their 20th anniversary, organisers had written to all previous dippers, many of whom had moved from the area. However, they had a great response, with the committee receiving good luck messages from as far afield as Nigeria, Indonesia and Italy. Sandra said the dip was the brainchild of the then landlord of the Tally-Ho! Gianni Scoz. When the new doctors' surgery opened in Hatherleigh 20 years ago, a group of people were thinking about ways of raising money to equip the new centre when the Italian landlord came up with the idea. Sandra said: 'That first year, there were 20 of us got sponsorship to do the dip and we raised £2,000. The dip has grown from strength to strength and has now raised a total in excess of £45,000.' This year's proceeds will be divided between Hatherleigh Bellringers, Hatherleigh Silver Band and the Saturday night entertainment at Hatherleigh Festival. Steve Fawcett of the bellringers said: 'There were four of us taking part in the dip from the bellringers in order to raise funds for new bellropes. 'Mark Wonnacott and Rob Hill were part of the 'Sound of Music' year, Pete Embling went as a 'gold prospector' and I was part of the 'by-pass builders' team.' Hatherleigh Mayor Cllr Gary Bush also took part, indulging in his first dip. He has a long way to go to catch Sandra's husband Steve, who set a record for the most number of consecutive dips this year, when he braved the waters for the 16th year in a row. Sandra said the Walruses had once again attracted 'a huge crowd' of supporters and onlookers, but said for anyone who wanted to relive the experience in the comfort of their own front room, a film record of the event was being produced. This year's dip was filmed and the footage will be added to the end of a DVD telling the story of the 20 years of the Walruses, which will go on sale later this month. To find out more about getting hold of a copy, please contact Sandra on 01837 810042.