Brave swim for mum's hospice

David Dawson, who hopes to raise $5000 for Rotorua Hospice, will swim across a freezing Scottish lake. Photo / File

He may be half a world away, but former Rotorua man Dave Dawson is raising money for the Rotorua Hospice.

Mr Dawson, who lives in the United Kingdom, plans to become the first Kiwi to swim Scotland's bitterly cold Loch Lomond, using the 40km swim as a fundraiser back home.

He chose the hospice after seeing the "amazing work" they did looking after his mother for several days after she suffered a brain aneurism. He has set himself a fundraising target of $5000 on his online fundraising page.

Mr Dawson said it looked like he'd be swimming on August 12 - his 50th birthday - which would make it a "bit more special".

Fewer than 50 people have completed the swim. One of the biggest hurdles is the cold temperature of the lake, but Mr Dawson said the bad weather in the UK had been preparing him well for that with a recent event swum at a water temperature of just 7C.

Mr Dawson said he hoped Rotorua people would support his effort as it was going to benefit a local organisation.

People can follow his blog at http://ironkiwi.wordpress.com or see his fundraising page at www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/DaveDawson.