ISLANDERS braved icy seas to dash into the waves for Mersea’s Boxing Day dip.

Almost 100 fearless swimmers, many of them in fancy dress, upheld the teeth-chattering tradition in aid of the island’s lifeboat station.

A 2,000-strong crowd watched the spectacle from the beach, by Coast Road.

The RNLI’s Rick Boreham was among the swimmers. He said: “I was in for about 20 seconds – just long enough to get my shoulders wet – but some stay in for as long as five minutes.”