An annual festive swim has been cancelled after organisers said there was not enough time to pull it together after getting the all clear on water quality.
The annual Boxing Day Dip in Deal, Kent, was cancelled in 2024 due to poor sea water bathing conditions.
Last month, the Environment Agency (EA) confirmed improvements had been made to the water quality and upgraded its rating to “good”, offering hope the event could go ahead this year.
But Deal Rotary Club has said it “finally had to admit defeat” in its bid to organise the swim.
In a post on social media on Friday, the charity said: “It was always a challenge to put the event on safely, given the short lead-in time following the reclassification of our sea water to ‘good’ by the Environment Agency.”
In July, it had warned the event was at risk due to a poor E.coli reading.
Club president Edward Barkway told the BBC at the time that the new recording taken at Deal Castle was 2.5 half times higher than the previous year’s reading.
The EA, which monitors levels of bacteria at bathing water sites across England, said in November improvements at Deal Castle Beach warranted the upgraded water quality rating.
But Deal Rotary Club said it then had a small window to organise the event for which “planning usually starts in the summer, not the end of November”.
It said: “Whilst it is a disappointment for us all, the work put in stands us in good stead for next year’s dip and, unless the stage changes yet again, we aim to give everyone plenty of time to get their sponsors signed up for their individual charities.”
