TWENTY-FIVE brave residents of Hatherleigh had a chilly start to the New Year as they took part in the Hatherleigh Walruses New Year's Day dip.

Each year the group take a dip in the freezing water of the River Lew on January 1 to raise money for a range of charities.

Around 300 people turned out to watch the swim, in the river near Hatherleigh Community Centre. The event's theme was 'The Smurfs play the Rugby World Cup Final', all to raise money for Hatherleigh Primary School and Hatherleigh Carnival.

Richard Tidball, one of the event organisers, said: 'The dip went very well, with blustery weather, but the rain held off until about three minutes after all the swimmers were out.

'The river was about three inches below the maximum height we would go in, but it meant we had to swim a bit harder and kept ourselves a bit warmer.

'This year's theme of the Smurfs playing the rugby final was good fun. We had a haka from the New Zealand Smurfs, a can-can from the French smurfs, and a free-for-all which ended with them all being sent off into the river. It was a lot of fun.'

The swimmers raised over £700 on the day with a raffle and collection boxes, and hope to have raised well over £2,000 following the collection of sponsorship money.