Swimmer Angela Varley is braving the icy cold water of a local reservoir every day for a month to raise money for charity.
Angela has set herself a target of £1,000 for the charity Destitute Asylum Seekers Huddersfield (DASH) which supports refugees and asylum seekers in Kirklees.
She is taking part in Dip a Day in December by swimming in the Sparth reservoir at Marsden. The water temperature is around 3C-5C at this time of year.
Angela, a librarian at Huddersfield Library, is also planning to swim in Loch Lomond during a trip to Scotland towards the end of the month.
During one early morning dip at the Sparth it was still dark so she had lights on her swimming hat for illumination. She is being supported by partner Garry Grindall.
Angela, from Slaithwaite, said outdoor swimming was “life affirming” and good for mental and physical health.
She wears special gloves and socks to ward off some of the cold and is always conscious of the dangers of hypothermia.
She said DASH was a worthy cause to support.
“Like many, I’m troubled by news stories about the plight of refugees and saddened by the increasing ‘them and us’ rhetoric.
“I suppose I’ve been aware of DASH for a number of years and, whilst being moved by the stories of refugees in Europe, I wanted to do something that would benefit people locally in the town where I live.
“I imagine that smaller charities like DASH struggle for funds and wanted to be a small part of the solution.”
A spokesman for DASH described the cold water swimming fundraising idea as “exceptional.”
He added: “For DASH we’ve had dress swaps, food stalls and even a marathon run by former Examiner reporter Chloe Glover. But we’ve never had anything quite as exceptional as this!”
* To donate go to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/angelavarley
