Gritty Buxton mum takes frosty dips every day in December for homeless
and live on Freeview channel 276
Debbie Rushworth, 52, says she took on the chilly challenge because rough sleepers ‘don’t have the luxury of returning home to a warm shower’.
A video shows the hardy High Peak woman under a frigid shower at a waterfall in the Kinder River which she said ‘was really cold because the water was pummeling my head’.
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Hide AdHowever she has also bathed at Three Shires Head on the Derbyshire-Staffordshire border and taken a numbing swim in a pond near Lightwood Reservoir during a blizzard.
During the reservoir swim the water temperature was just three degrees celsius - with a minus-five degrees windchill.
However Debbie describes the experience as ‘invigorating’.
She said: “Without a wetsuit you certainly feel the difference but during the year you acclimatise as the weather gets colder.
“It feels nice and really invigorating - it’s a really refreshing way to start the day.”
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Hide AdSocial prescriber Debbie meets friends in the early morning for her wintry plunges before returning home to begin work.
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Hide AdShe said: “Because it’s first thing in the morning and we’re not getting out as normal it’s nice to see a friend first thing in the morning and have a really invigorating start to the day.”
Debbie plans to complete a swim every day until December 31, adding: “So far it’s good – although it’s possible on a really windy and wintry day I won’t be as keen.”
The mum-of-two told how since she started the frosty feat others had started similar campaigns - braving the bitter waters for those who sleep on the streets.
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Hide AdShe said: “I choose to get extremely cold every day, knowing that I go back to a warm home and a hot shower.
“For people living on our streets winter is just cold and there’s no choice – this has really made me appreciate how hard it must for them on cold and wet mornings.”
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Hide Ad“But my swim buddies are so supportive and I couldn’t do this without them.”
You can make a donation to her Debbie’s Dipcember fundraising campaign at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/debbie-rushworth.