Women in bikinis brave cold for charity
MORE than 300 women braved the unpredictable British summer weather yesterday as they attempted to break a world record for the most bikini-clad women ever photographed together.
But despite 320 women stripping down to their smalls on the Cleveland beach the effort was not enough to get a place in the record books.
Organiser Mike Robson, from the Middlesbrough Erimus Rotary Club, said: “It was electric. The atmosphere was fantastic.
“We didn’t manage to break the record, in fact we got nowhere near it, but that isn’t a disappointment. We managed to make an awful lot of money for the Great North Air Ambulance.”
He added: “We had one lady of 81, we had one lady who came from Surrey purely to do this, lots of ladies from all over the north east, all shapes and sizes. Exactly what we wanted.”
Mr Robson's wife, Jan, 59, who joined the hoards of 16-81-year-olds, said: “It was fabulous. I wasn’t going to do it but I borrowed a bikini just the same and I couldn’t resist it in the end. The atmosphere was fantastic.
“Everyone was enjoying it, all shapes and sizes, all waving and shouting. And the sun coming out just made it - I was a bit shivery to start with but we didn’t feel the cold.
“I definitely would do it again.”
The official photographs were taken by Pam Ainsley, who also captured Redcar on camera for the film Atonement.
The fundraising event failed to beat the current Guinness World Record which was set in September last year on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia when 1,010 women posed in their bikinis.