A FUNDRAISER has braved ten cold water swims to raise money for a dementia charity she set up with a friend.

Hardy Ali Turnbull, from Wiveliscombe, did the swims last month as part of a year-long fundraising campaign for Remembering Not to Forget, which she launched with friend Laura Corrick after both had relatives diagnosed with dementia.

Some of the swims were held on Lake Windermere and Brighton beach, in three unheated outdoor pools, in two swimming ponds on Hampstead Heath in London and in the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

Ali, 34, said: “The swims were pretty cold but I actually really enjoyed it. You have to psyche yourself up for these things and afterwards it is a pretty amazing feeling.”

The pair decided to brave the cold without wetsuits – and their fundraising does not stop there.

The swims were just one of ten monthly challenges the pair will carry out, including a London to Paris cycle ride at Easter, a 2km swim of the River Thames in June, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in August and plans to break a world record for most high fives in a vertical tunnel.

They have raised £4,500 of their £10,000 target, which their charity will split between the Alzheimer’s Society, BRACE at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and causes closer to home.

Former Wellington School student Ali, who met Laura through playing hockey, said: “We both have close family members with dementia and wanted to do something to combat this cruel disease.

“We’re really excited about the challenges ahead and have been overwhelmed by people’s generosity so far.”

Remembering Not to Forget was set up in December 2013. Email info@rememberingnottoforget.org.uk or see rememberingnottoforget.org.uk