A group of babies have taken part in a swimming fundraiser to help find a brain tumour cure.

Adults and children at the Baby Paddlers swim schools across the South raised more than £1,300 for the Brain Tumour Research charity, by diving into their lessons in festive outfits.

The money raised from the Santa Swims, which took place across the South West and South East of England between 17 and 23 December, will go towards funding the fight against brain tumours, which kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

Laura Skilton, director at Baby Paddlers, which is based in Winchester, Hampshire, said: “Our Santa Swims were so much fun. All our teachers had a wonderful time, laughing with the children whilst raising hundreds of pounds for Brain Tumour Research, a charity close to my heart.

“For many of the swimmers it was the first time they’ve helped to raise money for charity and it was really special to be a part of that. I got involved with Brain Tumour Research for personal reasons but I learnt even more about how devastating brain tumours can be for patients and families. Historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence in the UK; it also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is calling for an annual spend of £35m in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

Amy White, community fundraising manager at Brain Tumour Research in the South West, said: “The Santa Swims were a unique and fun way to raise money for an extremely important cause. We are very grateful to Laura and the team at Baby Paddlers and thank them for their support.”

To donate to the Brain Tumour Research charity via the Baby Paddlers’ JustGiving page go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/babypaddlerssantaswim

For further information, please contact:

Annie Slinn at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07592 502708 or annie.slinn@braintumourresearch.org.

Notes to Editors

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK dedicated to raising funds for continuous and sustainable scientific research into brain tumours, and we are a leading voice calling for greater support and action for research into what scientists are calling the last battleground against cancer.

We are building a network of experts in sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence whilst influencing the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more nationally.

We welcome recent funding announcements for research into brain tumours from the UK Government and Cancer Research UK – £65 million pledged over the next five years. However, this potential funding of £13 million a year comes with a catch – money will only be granted to quality research proposals and, due to the historic lack of investment, there may not be enough of these applications that qualify for grants from this pot.

We want research funding parity with breast cancer and leukaemia. We are calling for a £30-35 million investment every year for research into brain tumours in order to fund the basic research groundwork needed to accelerate the translation from laboratory discoveries into clinical trials and fast-track new therapies for this devastating disease.

The Brain Tumour Research charity is a powerful campaigning organisation and represents the voice of the brain tumour community across the UK. We helped establish and provide the ongoing Secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Brain Tumours (APPGBT) which published its report Brain Tumours A cost too much to bear? in 2018. Led by the charity, the report examines the economic and social impacts of a brain tumour diagnosis. We are also a key player in the development strategy for the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission.

Key statistics on brain tumours:

• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age
• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• Historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours
• In the UK, 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour
• Brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia
• Brain tumours kill more men under 45 than prostate cancer
• Brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer
• Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers

Please quote Brain Tumour Research as the source when using this information. Additional facts and statistics are available from our website. We can also provide case studies and research expertise for the media.