Santa Run presents £4k to Shoalstone Pool

Shoalstone Pool got £4,000 closer to their £500,000 target this week after the Brixham Harriers and Brixham Soroptomists handed over a cheque earned from December’s annual Santa run.

Now famous in the town, the Santa Run sees hundreds of Santas run a three-kilometre course through Brixham’s town centre and to the end of the breakwater, all while raising money for a good cause.

This year, several hundred Santas were running to raise money for Shoalstone Pool, which was critically damaged by a storm in October 2023.

Despite being used since the 19th century, the pool is now vulnerable to structural collapse, should fall victim to another fierce storm.

The damage prompted trustees of the pool to launch an appeal to raise half a million pounds to make the vital repairs.

In 2023, £36,000 was raised through events and initiatives, alongside donations of £60,000 each from Brixham Town Council and Torbay Council. This put Shoalstone well on its way to applying for match funding from the government’s Community Ownership Fund.

“The Santa run is a sight to behold,” said David Thomas, Trustee and Operations Manager for Shoalstone Seawater Pool CIO.

“Events like this are really encouraging. Everyone’s got behind us and what we’re doing in the campaign.

“Shoalstone is in everybody's hearts because everybody has memories here. So many people learnt to swim there when they were kids in the 50s and 60s, so it's always been part of the Brixham community.

“A big thanks to the organisers and everyone involved, it’s a huge amount put towards the pool.”