AFTER several weeks of fundraising, Widemouth’s Bay View Inn was pleased to present cheques to two worthy causes — Macmillan Cancer Support and the Friends of Bude Sea Pool.

When Bay View manager Hayley Keene discovered she had been burgled in August — not only did the culprits take valuable items such as CCTV equipment, but also the entire cash draw from the till and, most heartbreaking of all, they took off with the Macmillan charity ‘swear jar’, which was almost full of 20ps, totalling an estimated £700.

Intent on making the best of what was an awful situation, Hayley, along with staff at the inn, friends and family, set about organising a fundraising event to raise back the stolen charity jar money, and try to exceed it —and exceed it they did.

On Sunday, October 11, three brave swimmers set off from Duckpool at 7.30am and swam the six-mile stretch to Widemouth Bay by 10.05am.

Among the trio were two members of the Bay View’s staff, Molly Mees, 16, and Yazmin Allsworth, 15, and they were joined by the bar manager Shane Readman’s father, Gary.

Shane, along with Tony Bonnick and Conrad Mitchell, kayaked beside them, with family members following closely on land.

The day continued with an auction back at the Bay View Inn, where many suppliers and local businesses had donated great prizes. There was also live music in the bar area from Hayley’s good friend Geri, who kept the party atmosphere going and topped off what had been a fantastic day.

Bay View regular and family friend Glyn Collen also raised just under £1,000 for Macmillan by taking part in Ironman Wales.

As the money raised on the day went above and beyond expectations, Hayley decided a portion of it should go to something more directly local to the Bay View, and with that the Friends of Bude Sea Pool were chosen.

Hayley said: “We chose the sea pool because we wanted to give some money to a local good cause and we felt that the sea pool is an important part of Bude’s coastline.”

Since then, all the money has been counted and the total of all fundraising activities came to an astounding £4,163.76.

On Sunday, December 6, representatives from both the Friends of Bude Sea Pool and Macmillan Cancer Support were presented with cheques at the Bay View Inn. £1,000 went to the sea pool and £3,163.76 to Macmillan.

Hayley said: “We felt after we were robbed we wanted to use the energy we would waste on being angry and upset to good use.

“Raising money for charity gave us the focus and determination to get over the burglary.

“My family and our whole team feel honoured to be part of such a wonderful community. When the chips were down, everyone rallied round to help in whatever way they could.

“We would like to think this experience helped us turn a horrific ordeal into the absolute highlight of 2015.

“We are truly proud of everyone involved and would like to take this opportunity to say thank you.”