More than 750 swimmers braved the freezing temperatures last weekend at the seventh UK Cold Water Swimming Championships.

The event involves swimmers racing in fancy dress in an unheated pool to raise money for Crisis, a charity to end homelessness.

The biggest Championships to date, hosted by Tooting Bec Lido on Saturday 28, the event was a roaring success and also the coldest with water temperature at 1.5ºC.

There were 660 swimmers, 117 races, 170 volunteers, 800 spectators, 90 dippers and 500 cupcakes eaten during the event.

Dippers jump into the chilly pool at the end as part of the Big Splash to raise funds for Crisis.

The winner of highly-prized hat competition for the Head Up Breaststroker with the most outlandish and imaginative swimming cap went to Kate Webb with her Wafting Watery Wonder.

Your Local Guardian:

Kate Webb as a sea anemone and Carl Reynolds as a jelly fish. Credit: Fernando Farah

Second prize went to Mandy Worsely for her Fab-U-lous Folies Bergère and third went to Barbara Jennings for My Little Pony.

You can check all the race results here.

The MP for Tooting Rosena Allin-Khan opened the event:



The event, organised by the South London Swimming Club, attracts both experienced cold water swimmers and those trying it out for the first time.

Competitors could recover afterwards with a sauna, hot tubs, mulled wine and cider and some delicious food from the pop-up stalls.