THOUSANDS of pounds will be raised for charity when swimmers take the plunge at Purbeck Sports Centre in Wareham this weekend.

The Lions Clubs of Wareham and Swanage are staging their annual fund-raising swimarathon event.

Cllr Tony Miller, chairman of the sports centre committee, said: "The swimarathon is an important community charitable event - and helps raise much-needed funds for a host of charities."

Teams for the Swanage Lions will be competing to swim the most lengths and boost their fund-raising targets on Saturday and teams from Wareham will swim on Sunday.

This year's chosen charities for the Swanage Lions are Cancare, Julia's House and Play In Swanage.

The fund-raising event means the pool will be closed to the public both days, but the children's "learn to swim" programme will still be held, though it will start 15 minutes earlier than usual.

Swimming starts at 10am and finishes at 7pm both days and the event sponsors are Ellis Jones solicitors.

Neil Sheppard, sports centre manager, said: "Anyone who has entered a team - or is considering doing so - could benefit from a training programme at the centre.

"That would help those occasional swimmers who often turn out for events like the swimarathon get some useful training to help them get fit, and beyond."

He added: "During normal swimming hours many of our lifeguards double up as swimming teachers and would be happy to offer advice on such things as swimming technique."

Anyone wanting more information about the event, or interested in registering their own team, can contact Colin Appleton from Wareham Lions Club on 01929 552110 or Geoff Saunders for Swanage Lions on 01929 425603.

First published: Oct 12