Boxing Day dippers brave North Sea at Seaburn and Tynemouth
Thousands of people braved the cold North Sea for Boxing Day dips across the North East despite high winds.
One of the biggest was at Seaburn beach in Sunderland where about 1,000 hardy souls took to the water.
Organisers Sunderland Lions Club urged dippers to don fancy dress and blow the Christmas cobwebs away by raising money for charity.
There were similar scenes in Redcar in Teesside and Longsands in Tynemouth despite warnings of high winds.
RNLI lifeboat crews made sure dippers were safe at the 50th Boxing Day Dip at Redcar Esplanade organised by the Redcar Rotary Club.