Lowestoft Christmas swimmer breaks leg in 'freak accident'

Andrew Goldson (right) and his friend John Harvey took part in the swim dressed as Flintstones characters

A charity fundraiser dressed as Fred Flintstone broke his leg in a "freak accident" during a Christmas Day swim.

It was the seventh year Andrew Goldson, 53, had taken part in the event in the North Sea at Lowestoft, Suffolk to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

He collapsed "within two or three steps" and was rescued by lifeguards and the St John Ambulance.

He said: "I fell forward and went under water, my friend grabbed me to try to lift me up."

He said his leg "gave way whilst running into the sea".

"I have no idea how it happened. It was a freak accident," he added.

He quickly went from "high spirits" to being taken away to hospital with a broken leg

Hundreds of people started Christmas Day with a dip in the cold winter sea at events held along the Suffolk coast.

The Everyone Active 2023 Lowestoft Christmas Day Swim - the 44th time the event has been held - took place just north of Claremont Pier.

Mr Goldson, from Carlton Colville, said he quickly went from "high spirits" to Christmas being cancelled with an afternoon of scans at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston.

Mr Goldson said he collapsed unexpectedly as soon he got into the sea

"The staff here have been wonderful, but it wasn't how we expected to spend the day," he said.

"We've still got presents under the tree; I had a chocolate bar for Christmas dinner and my wife had a jacket potato."

He remained in hospital on Wednesday and was expecting to have surgery by the weekend.

Large crowds gathered in Lowestoft to watch the swimmers enter the North Sea

Several weeks of recovery will mean being unable to work as a self-employed heating and gas engineer.

He regularly runs and takes part in events, raising £5,000 for charity over the years, but said he would have to "re-evaluate" whether he continued to do it.

"I can't afford to go through this again," he said.

The event in Lowestoft was the 44th time it has been held