Looks like there's no going back now! As well as running in this year's Santa in the City with my lovely colleagues Bea, Natalie and Mathilde, I thought I'd push the boat out a little. 

My local London lido is thankfully open year-round for the mad few who fancy a little bit of hypothermia with a touch of frostbite for Christmas. I'm one of them. And I think your donation should translate directly into action, which is why for every £2 donated, I'll stay in the water for one second. That means that if I hit my target I'll have to stay in the water for 250 seconds, or 4 mins 10.

Now, this might not sound like much, but the water temperature at this lido is low. Extremely low. It's currently 5 degrees which puts it in the lowest water temperature category - 'baltic' (0-6°C) - according to the Outdoor Swimming Society ('freezing' is a balmy 6-11°C). Because the water is so cold I shouldn't stay in for more than a couple of minutes, which means that if I do reach my target, I'll have to do repeated visits to the pool. Fantastic.

Video evidence of my misery will, of course, be provided for your entertainment. The more you donate, the more I suffer, the more you laugh, the more we can campaign against animal abuse, so please donate generously!!! 

Just a wee reminder of why I'm doing this. I've seen countless undercover investigations of horrendous abuse towards animals and I've seen the incredible impact that exposing these to the public and the companies responsible has had. PETA has played a huge part in the rise of veganism in the UK, is changing international policy around animal experimentation and has shifted perceptions around animals abused for fashion and entertainment, all for the better. Our work is life-changing for these animals, but there's still so much to be done. Based on the government's slaughter statistics, 2,220 animals are slaughtered per minute for food in the UK alone - that's 37 animals killed every second in the UK, just for food. 

So please donate so i can freeze my b***s off and PETA can continue campaigning for animals! Thank you!

*P.S. if I hit £550, I'll do it in a mankini.*

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.