FIFTEEN hardy swimmers have completed an exhausting swim from the Bass Rock to North Berwick for charity.

They donned wetsuits, swimming caps, goggles and ear plugs before taking the plunge to raise £5,000 for Project Play.

The Project Play team, made up of PTA members, parents and teachers at Law Primary School, have taken on extensive fundraising over the last two years.

After cake sales and ‘onesie’ days, the fundraisers tackled their biggest challenge yet on Sunday morning when a group of parents and PTA members took on the gruelling sea swim.

The PTA’s Ali Buchanan, of Rhodes Park, who took part, told the Courier: “It was amazing. It far exceeded all our hopes and it was just fabulous.

“We set off from Bass Rock at about 10.30am and we made it back to shore quicker than we thought.

“The first swimmers back made it in about an hour, while most of us finished within an hour and a half.” Thirty-eight-year-old Ali thanked everyone for their support, with kayakers, the RNLI and a number of boats joining the swimmers on the 2.4-mile trip from the Bass Rock back to North Berwick.

Already, the fundraising has helped the school to purchase an impressive-looking playpod.

The pod is named after inspirational school pupil Charlie Kay, who completed a mini-triathlon earlier this year and whose family donated money to the project.

The pod is filled with recycled items, from old phones and keyboards to pipes, hats and other items that the children can use.

Ali was delighted to do her bit alongside the 14 others who braved the water off North Berwick’s coast.

She added: “We started off and you could only see the Law and general things.

“As you got closer, you could see what looked like little sticks and they were hundreds of people; I only expected my mum to be there!

“There were hundreds of people there and it was fabulous.

“We were all wearing ear plugs but you could hear the cheers and it was really emotional coming in.”