A cancer survivor and campaigner has taken part in a charity swim.

Louise Butcher, who is known as the Topless Runner, was among the swimmers at the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity Topless Swim 2025 which aimed to raise funds and awareness of breast cancer.

The swim at Ilfracombe raised more than £30,000 with 200 ladies “all proudly showing their breasts” including some who had mastectomy scars.

Teams from North Devon District Hospital and Fern Centre cancer wellbeing team were also at the event to offer advice about breast cancer screening and early detection.

Mrs Butcher, who had a double mastectomy in 2022 after being diagnosed with lobular breast cancer, said she runs topless to promote body positivity and to raise money for Barnstaple’s Fern Centre.

She said a big reason why she ran topless with her mastectomy scars on display was to reduce the stigma and anxiety of receiving treatment.

Swimmers arrived at about 09:00 BST with a safety briefing at 10:00 BST, before the swim started at 10:30 BST.

Mrs Butcher said raising awareness was important and she had received messages of support from other women.

“I get messages from women every day and they give me goosebumps,” she said.

One lady actually said that she’d followed me and seen something I’d said on one of my posts and gone for a mastectomy because of it and then they’d found she had cancer.

“She’s now on chemo and I literally saved a life in that sense.”

Mrs Butcher said her advice for women would be to self-check as well as going for mammograms which did not pick up all cancers.

“Keep checking once a month and also look in the mirror,” she said.