A LOVING mother from Redcar has faced the freezing cold temperatures of the famous Boxing Day dip for the fifth year in a row.

Carla Upton and her niece, Rosie Camfield, embraced the frosty weather and strong tides in order to raise £243 for the Sick Children’s Trust, a charity that supported her family when her son, Cassius, was born in 2009.

Due to a suspected life threatening bowel disease, Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Cassius was immediately transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for specialist treatment, where he stayed for two weeks.

Mrs Upton and her family were able to stay close to Cassius while he was in hospital because of Crawford House, a home for relatives provided by the charity.

The 35-year-old said: “Crawford House was invaluable to us when Cassius was poorly in hospital. Having the house enabled us to be with him at all times and also stay together as a family.

“Fortunately, Cassius made a full recovery and is now four years old and enjoying school. I will never forget the support we received from The Sick Children’s Trust and the Boxing Day dip is a way for me to give something back each year.”

The Sick Children’s Trust has nine so-called homes from home based at major paediatric hospitals across the UK, including Crawford House at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle.