Annual New Year's Day swim axed after sea deaths
BBCAn annual charity sea swim in aid of a town's lifeboat has been axed after the deaths earlier this year of four people off the Yorkshire coast.
Hornsea Inshore Rescue, which organises the New Year's Day Swim in Hornsea, said it had made the "difficult decision" to end one of its biggest fundraising events after the "tragic loss of lives along our coastline".
In January, 15-year-old Grace Keeling, her mother Sarah and passerby Mark Ratcliffe died in the sea off Withernsea. In August, Abdi Zubeir, 13, drowned at Hornsea.
In a post on social media, the charity said it felt it could "no longer justify encouraging people to enter the North Sea, particularly during the harsh conditions of January".
It added: "As a lifesaving organisation, our first responsibility must always be the safety of our community. This has not been an easy decision, but we firmly believe it is the right one.
"No amount of fundraising is worth risking a life."
The charity described the swim as one of its biggest fundraising activities, and said it was "incredibly grateful" for the support it had received and hoped this would continue in future events.
In January, the swim had to be cancelled due to high waves, which resulted in the fire service using their hoses to provide a seaside shower instead.
The event was also called off in 2025, due to "sewage overflow events", which Yorkshire Water apologised for.
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