Thousands of brave souls dressed up as Santas, Christmas elves and superheroes are being invited to take a plunge in the North Sea.

Registration has now opened for Lowestoft's 44th Christmas Day Swim, sponsored by JME.

The swim sees hundreds take the plunge, many in fancy dress, to raise money for local charities and causes.

The swim is spearheaded by Everyone Active and supported by HM Coastguard, Lowestoft Volunteer Lifeguard Corps, Lowestoft Lions, St John Ambulance, the RNLI and East Point Pavilion.

Lowestoft Journal: Fun at the Christmas Swim in Lowestoft. Fun at the Christmas Swim in Lowestoft. (Image: Mick Howes)

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Money raised will be shared equally between YMCA Trinity, HOPE after Suicide Loss, Lowestoft and Waveney Breastfeeding Support, 1st Gunton Brownies and TrueColours of Lowestoft.

In addition, the core charities are Lowestoft Lions, Lowestoft Lifeguard Volunteer Corp, the St John Ambulance local branch and the Brian Gallagher Football Fund.

Registration will take place outside the Flying Fifteens Café from 8.30am. A minimum £5 donation is required.

Lowestoft Journal: Hundreds of people dress up as Santa and his elves at the Lowestoft Christmas swim. Hundreds of people dress up as Santa and his elves at the Lowestoft Christmas swim. (Image: Mick Howes)

The swim itself will take place at 10am sharp with a quick warm-up on the promenade followed by a jog towards the Claremont Pier, onto the beach and into the sea.

To register, go to www.everyoneactive.com/xmasdayswim.

Donna Taylor, operations manager for Everyone Active at Waterlane Leisure Centre, said: "We are delighted to be involved in this special event, which is of such importance to the local community and fantastic charitable causes.

"We wish all participants the very best of luck and encourage people of all ages to come down and cheer them on.”

Matt Stebbings, event volunteer, said: “Each year we raise the bar on our target and this year should not be any different.

"The swim is part of many families’ local traditions, and we want local people to get behind it once again and dig deep.

"It is always a tough decision who to choose to be a recipient, but I hope everyone will agree the organisations selected undertake great work and will benefit the residents of Lowestoft and Waveney."