More than 40 swimmers braved the cold on Tuesday to take a post-Christmas dip in the sea.

They ran into the waves wearing nothing but their costumes and a few strategically-placed Santa hats. Many of the women turned up in bikinis.

Among them was Joanne Dolan, 37, from Sexburga Drive, and her 60-year-old mum Patsy.

Joanne, who recently moved back to Britain after spending 10 years in Switzerland, described herself as "a bit crazy."

She said: "I was visiting my mum and read about the swim in the Sheerness Times Guardian. We decided on the spur of the moment that it would be a good idea to jump into the sea on this very cold, crisp day."

She added: "Both my mother and I had been wanting to do it for a very long time. Now we've done it we'd like to do it every year. Other towns along the coast like Brighton do it. This will help put Sheppey on the map."

Others making their daunting dip debut included Leon Butcher, 35, and his partner Jurgita Peciulaityte.

Leon said: "It was quite an experience. It was bitterly cold but it got the heart going."

He insisted he will return next year - once he'd thawed out.

Two people who stayed in the longest were Sheppey's Jo Kavanagh and windsurfer Brian Culver, 53, from Lordswood. Brian said: "It was the second time I've done the Sheppey swim. It was lovely. The water was about nine degrees which is warmer than the lake I normally swim in at Snodland!"

Organiser Mark Whitton, chairman of the Minster Beach Huts Association, said: "It was our fourth Christmas swim and our best. It just keeps getting better. The first swim, there were just three of us. This time there were around 40. But it was still cold. There was ice on my car when I woke up!"

The shivering splash was in memory of late windsurfer David Clay who died in April and had been part of the beach hut community.