THE Grey Dippers is a name that many in North Ayrshire may be familiar with.

The group is comprised of nine locals who came together last year and met a few times a week to do a bit of cold water therapy.

They dipped primarily at the shore front in Ardrossan and as time together grew so did their sense of supporting each other.

Then as winter approached, the group of Lee Riddex, Tam Kane, James McLeod, James Booth, Colin Booth, Gordon Woods, Joe Smith, Tony Clarke, and David Kane had an idea of how they could support others as well.

They set a goal of completing a cumulative 200 'dips' in the local waters between November 1 and Boxing Day in a bid to raise £1,000 for the North Ayrshire Foodbank.

Though when December 26, 2022 rolled around their fundraising efforts reached heights that "never in our wildest dreams" had The Grey Dippers imagined.

Their aim was upped to 275 before the grand finale in Ardrossan, where hundreds descended on the shore to join the group.

As for reaching their goal, the team raised a remarkable £24,682 for our local foodbank - over 24 times their initial goal.

Since then the group have been catching up, dipping occasionally, and with November nearly upon us - and they are all set to go again.

The Herald popped down to catch up with the team ahead of fundraising kicking off once again on Wednesday, November 1, and it's safe to say there is no slowing The Grey Dippers down.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: We joined the Grey Dippers on one of their last 'dips' before fundraising kicks off once again.

"We are now questioning our sanity as it's absolutely baltic," the group joked, "but the charity needs the resources, and the local area need the charity, we can't back down now."

This reporter can confirm that is was indeed "absolutely baltic" but spirits remain as high as ever amongst the group.

The group's old fundraising page will be made live once again as of Wednesday - with the total from last year still being displayed. The page is available at tinyurl.com/thegreydippers.

The team will be keeping an eye to see how much the total can grow this time around as they prepare to set their Boxing Day dipping target for 2023.

It will be a tough challenge to reach the heights of last year but if anyone can do it, these men can.

Though the main goal, as always, is bringing the community together in the name of a great cause and we are certainly on board.

To keep up to date with The Grey Dippers exploits and fundraising - or perhaps to join in somewhere along the line - be sure to check out their Facebook page here.