Siblings brave freezing temperatures and raise over £12k for charity
Jago Bucher, 12, and Florence Bucher, 11, from Knettishall, near Diss, braved the winter weather as they plunged into freezing cold waters in a bid to raise money for the NSPCC. - Credit: Courtesy of NSPCC
A brother and sister who plunged into ice-cold water every day throughout February have raised over £12,000 for a children’s charity.
Jago Bucher, 12, and Florence Bucher, 11, from Knettishall, near Diss, braved the winter weather as they plunged into freezing cold waters in a bid to help children across the county, supported by the NSPCC.
So far, the duo, with help from their dad James Bucher, have raised over £12,000 and donations continue to come in after they took their final dip on Sunday February 28.
Mr Bucher said: “There is so much to say about their achievements, not only has it been a tremendous effort but they’ve helped a lot of children.
“Looking back, there weren’t many days when they didn’t enter into it with beaming smiles, even during the cold snap when the water temperature dropped to 0.8 degrees Celsius.
“This challenge has definitely brought them closer together as siblings and it also meant they had a routine, which is so important for children, especially right now.
“At first, we started slowly, going in for 60 seconds and no longer, but once you get through 90 seconds, your body acclimatises and it becomes easier.
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“For the last couple of weeks, we were usually in for 5-10 minutes. On our last day, we managed to beat our record and stay in for 12 minutes.”
Jago Bucher, 12, and Florence Bucher, 11, from Knettishall, near Diss, braved the winter weather as they plunged into freezing cold waters in a bid to raise money for the NSPCC. - Credit: Courtesy of NSPCC
Mr Bucher says wild swimming in February, with air temperatures in sub-zero ranges, is more than just a difficult physical challenge and can be dangerous if the right precautions are not followed.
He said: “We wear neoprene gloves and socks, and woolly hats, to make sure we protect our extremities and don’t lose much heat through our heads.
“You can’t just dive in either, you need to slowly move into the water to get your body used to the water temperatures.”
Florence added: “The challenge was a lot of fun, yes it was very cold, but it was great fun too and I enjoyed doing it every time.
"I’m also happy that we raised so much and I hope that this will help a lot of children.”
To support Jago and Florence please visit, https://bit.ly/3qomcUV.
