The phrases 'shiver me timbers' and 'avast ye hearties' are set to become a familiar sound on the banks of the River Thames in Oxfordshire this month.

A group of nurses at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Windmill Road, Oxford, will be taking to the water dressed as pirates to raise money for Cancer Research.

It is the third time the group, who have christened themselves Pirates of the Acetabulum, have carried out the fundraising journey.

Mik Ashfield, from Kidlington, who for a week will become Captain Jack Sparrow — a character from the hit film Pirates of the Caribbean — said: "You get a bunch of pirates turning up in a pub and everyone loves it."

They chose the name Pirates of the Acetabulum as a nod to Pirates of the Caribbean with the acetabulum reference linked to their jobs at the hospital — acetabulum is part of the hip joint.

In the first year, the intrepid narrow-boaters raised £300 for the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and managed to get £500 for Cancer Research last year.

The quartet — which also consists of Vikki Ludlow, Matt Linton-Smith and Brenda Lennon — are aiming to beat that sum with this year's journey, which will start on Wednesday.

Throughout the voyage, the pirates will be stopping at various watering holes, collecting money for charity.

They will start at The Isis pub in Iffley and plan to stop at Wittenham on Thursday; Abingdon on Friday, September 19; The Watermans Arms, Osney Island, Oxford, next Saturday; and Godstow, Wolvercote and Wytham next Sunday.