It's a long-held tradition and a big part of the Christmas fun.

But, sadly, organisers have pulled the plug on the Christmas Day swim at Charmouth.

RNLI volunteers have decided they can no longer organise the fancy dress dip in the sea at Charmouth due to the additional requirements needed to ensure the event can run safely.

Members of the Lyme Regis and Charmouth Lifeboat Supporters reluctantly reached their decision after being informed of new rules for such events introduced by the RNLI.

The event has been held every year for some 50 years. Originally, the dip was organised by residents of Charmouth.

The RNLI volunteers have been organising the event, raising funds for the life-saving charity, for the past 10 years.

Chairman of the lifeboat supporters group, Ken Lavery, said: “It is with much sadness that we feel we cannot continue to play the major role in organising the event.

“We understand this will be disappointing for many, and the decision was not an easy one to make. The annual dip has been a part of Charmouth Christmas tradition for many years, and as many of the charity’s volunteers are local to Charmouth and the surrounding area, it has been a huge part of their Christmas long before the RNLI became involved.

“As a lifesaving organisation, the safety of participants is paramount and the procedures required by the charity for an event to be safely managed and properly insured include producing a risk assessment, safety plans, and a formal registration system.

“The RNLI is not alone in requiring these safety procedures to be in place for its organised mass participation events, but unfortunately for the small group of volunteers involved with the Lyme Regis and Charmouth Lifeboat Supporters, the amount of work needed to meet these requirements has become too great, both in the run up to, but especially on, Christmas Day itself

An RNLI spokesperson said: “We appreciate that people will be disappointed by the decision, but the safety of participants is essential and it is not felt the organisation can offer the level of safety required.We would also like to give our dedicated volunteers the opportunity to enjoy Christmas Day with their families.”

Ken Lavery added: “The supporters group are sad that their fund-raising association with this long running event has come to an end. However, our members felt they had no choice.

“We wish to give as much notice as possible to everyone as we know how popular the Charmouth dip was and how disappointed many spectators and participants will be.”

In recent years the Charmouth dip regularly raised donations in the region of £2,000.