Fundraisers to plunge into shark infested waters

Fundraisers prepare to plunge into the shark infested waters Credit: PA

Fundraisers from a law firm will plunge into shark-infested waters to raise money for the Hull branch of a children's charity celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Staff from Irwin Mitchell's offices in Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester will be coming face to face with 10-foot sand tiger sharks at the Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire for national charity, KIDS.

The 12 workers hope to raise more than £2,500 for the charity's East Yorkshire and Humberside branch, based on Chanterlands Avenue in Hull.

The team has already raised more than £1,000 for KIDS, which works with disabled children and young people.

Sarah Coles, Andrew Walker, Georgina Sheldon, Tarlochan Supri, James Hemming, Nigel Bolton, Matt Brown, Dean Bestall, Carolyn Oade, Liam Riley, Scott Beckett and Fay Gould will all be thrown in at the deep end today.

Sarah, an associate solicitor at Irwin Mitchell's Leeds office who will be taking part in the challenge, said: "Following a daredevil fire walk last year, we thought swimming with sharks seemed to be the next logical step.

"The charity is close to all our hearts at Irwin Mitchell because they do such fantastic work with the parents and carers of youngsters with disabilities.

"The charity relies on donations and grants so we hope our fundraising efforts will help them continue their life-changing work particularly in the East Yorkshire and Humberside region.

"We are all a little nervous but incredibly excited about taking on such an exciting challenge, which will also help the charity's Hull branch mark its 25th anniversary year. We just hope the sharks have been well fed before we dip our toes into the water."

Jonathan Greenwood, a fundraiser for KIDS in Yorkshire and Humberside who helped organise the event, said: "We currently support more than 1,000 families but we wouldn't be able to continue to help disabled youngsters, their carers and families in the region without the support of fundraisers at local companies like Irwin Mitchell.

"We wish the team all the best for their shark dive - we really admire their bravery and determination to raise money for KIDS."