"We are told that charity begins at home, and our doctors are the first people we turn to when there is something wrong with us, so we thought this year that we would devote the largest amount to their needs," said Mr. Roger Harries, speaking at the presentation of cheques to the various charities as a result of the efforts of the Amroth Arms Dippers' annual New Year's Day Swim, when over £3,000 was raised.

He said: "We asked the Saundersfoot Medical Centre what they needed and we are so pleased to have been able to meet some of their immediate requirements."

Receiving the cheque for £1,220 on behalf of the centre, Mrs. Geraldine Leach, the Health Education Nurse, said: "You don't know how much good you have done. The spirometer alone, which you have enabled us to buy, will help over 800 asthma sufferers in the area, and the wrist bands are a real help as the low-stress way of monitoring blood pressure."

A salutary reminder of the devastating effect of the Foot and Mouth disaster, far beyond the confines of the farming community, was vividly highlighted when Mr. Ken Bellamy received a cheque for £1,000 on behalf of the Ty Hafan Hospice, near Barry.

He said: "You can't begin to imagine what this means to us this year, having lost nearly £90,000 in our Fell Walking sponsorship, with so many areas being closed because of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease. To make matters worse, even our normal collections in the valley have been down, due to the closure of the Corus steelworks and the general unemployment."

Increasing costs were also very much on the mind of Mr. Trevor Wanmer when he received a cheque for £300 on behalf of the Welsh Sailing for the Disabled at Neyland.

He said: "This is another wonderful gesture. Our costs in keeping the boats at Neyland are increasing every year, and this will save us from having to increase our charges to disabled people, which is the last thing we would want to do."

The cheque for £300 to the Tavernspite Playgroup will go towards the purchase of musical instruments for the children, and Mrs. Lianne Lawrence, in accepting the cheque and expressing the thanks of the group, said: "For us to have raised £300 ourselves would have meant a good many coffee mornings."

Last on the list, but by no means the least important, was the cheque for £200 for the Summerhill Birds of Prey Centre, where the two swans, taken to the centre after being saved by vandals in the area of the Pembroke Mill Pond, have been much in the news recently.

Speaking of the plight of the two birds, an emotional Mrs. Maria Evans said: "The vet's charge was £80 and the cost of surgery to repair the bill of the swan will also come to a fair amount of money, so this is a huge help to us in trying to do something for these beautiful birds."