BLUSHING bride Julie Carmichael took the plunge for the second time in only a few days yesterday.

For the 41-year-old put her honeymoon on hold to take part in the Boxing Day dip at Seaburn beach, Sunderland, which attracted up to 1,000 people from as far afield as Kent.

Mrs Carmichael, who married fiancee Peter Carmichael at Durham Register Officer on Christmas Eve, said it was not a difficult decision to delay jetting off to the warmer climes of Costa Blanca in Spain until tomorrow.

"I've done the dip for the last 18 years and I wanted to make it 19," said Mrs Carmichael, from Murton, County Durham.

Organised by the Lions Club of Sunderland, last year's Boxing Day dip raised £41,000 and there are hopes that this year's event will beat that amount. The largest contingent of dippers was supporting the Grace House Children's Hospice campaign, but another 70 projects also stand to benefit.

Mrs Carmichael, a tenor-horn player with Hetton Silver Band, which leads the parade of swimmers to the beach, said: "Even though I've had other things on my mind this year, I still wouldn't want to miss it."

Farther down the coast, fundraisers braved the icy waters off Redcar, east Cleveland, to raise an anticipated £10,000 for charity.

The dip, organised by Middlesbrough Teesside Lions Club, featured pirates, drag queens and several Santas. They were among hundreds plunging in to the North Sea, while hundreds lined the beach to offer their support.

Debbie Bullock, who was in Redcar visiting relatives, was tempted to take the plunge.

"When I heard about the dip, I just wanted to do it. I was just visiting some relatives and thought I wouldn't mind giving that a try. It was great fun but very, very cold," she said.

Soldier Ricky Drury, who has just returned from Iraq, said: "It wasn't as cold as I imagined it would be, but it certainly gets your blood pumping."

Once back inside the warmth of Leo's pub, on the Esplanade, club president Giles Bolitho said: "It was a great turnout, especially when you consider the weather. Hopefully, by the time we add up all the sponsorship and collection money, we will have raised in excess of £10,000."