A group of 154 swimmers braved the rough seas today and jumped into the water at Balluta Bay in the 13th edition of the Thomas Smith Charity Swim, collecting €13,000 for the Malta Community Chest Fund and L-Istrina.

First to dive in - with a somersault, was 75-year-old Alfred Abela. The other participants included presenter Pierre Portelli, Nationalist MPs Beppe Fenech Adami and Karl Gouder and the head of the European Commission in Malta Martin Bugelli.

Those taking part included children younger than 10 and people older than 70.

All participants were given a medal and adults also received a shot of whiskey on getting out of the water.

The Charity Swim started in 1999 as a brainchild of Anton Buttigieg and some of his friends, who showed their appreciation by collecting a small sum of money in aid of charity in return for Mr Buttigieg’s winter swim during the Christmas season.

Over the course of the last 13 years, the Thomas Smith Charity Swim continued to grow and the number of swimmers increases year on year, helping to raise substantial sums of money for L-Istrina.

Held under the patronage of the President of the Republic, the 2011 Thomas Smith Charity Swim was supported by the Sliema Local Council, the Civil Protection Department, Giorgio’s Coffee Shop, Peppi’s Kiosk, EFRU, Plaza Hotel, the St John’s Ambulance Brigade and the Representation of the European Commission in Malta as the last event of the European Year for Volunteering.