Blisters, hamstring cramps and an enormous sense of pride were the among souvenirs for some of Oxfordshire's toughest endurance rowers.

The four-man crew from Abingdon Rowing Club completed the equivalent of more than a marathon when they took to to the water in Britain's toughest endurance rowing event.

Their mission was simply to finish the 50km course of the Boston Marathon in Lincolnshire.

But the crew over-achieved — first by finishing the course in a super fast 4hr and 15 minutes — and then by raising £4,000 for Down's Syndrome Oxford.

Crew member Matt Robinson said: "My hands are a bit of a mess and I have got some quite big blisters on my hands. My legs are a bit sore, but I am walking, which is quite good.

"I am very proud of what we have done. It is an enormous achievement on everybody’s part.

"I was almost in tears at the end of it. When you go through that, you want to finish it and do right by all the people that have sponsored you. It was very satisfying."

Mr Robinson, 36, from Middle Aston, north Oxfordshire, chose the course on the River Witham in Lincolnshire, in an attempt to repay the charity for the help it has given his daughter Lucy.

Lucy, who is 22-months-old, has been receiving extra communication lessons from the charity in the run-up to starting school.

The Robinsons are among 150 families the charity helps on an annual budget of about £25,000 a year.

Mr Robinson said: "We were extremely relieved that we had done it. We came away from it with such a positive feeling.

"The banks were quite high, which meant you couldn’t really see anything, and that starts to play with your mind. You think 'how long is it going to go on for?'

"When we finished we were very sore. I was getting hamstring cramps quite a lot of the time in the last few kilometres.

"We were all absolutely exhausted and quite dehydrated at the end."

Mr Robinson's wife Emily said: "I am very proud of him. I know he was nervous about it before, but they did very well.

"The money will make a huge difference to the charity. A single lump sum of that size is very significant."

To find out more about the work of the charity visit dsoxford.org.uk