IN a twist on the familiar bath full of baked beans, one Oxford fishmonger shared a tub with 100 live crayfish today as Children in Need events were staged across the county.

The annual BBC event, which last year raised almost £20m, inspired hundreds of fundraisers to rattle their collections tins for disadvantaged young people around Britain.

In Oxford’s Covered Market, Steven Thompson, of Haymans fishmongers, created a splash by bathing with 100 of the shellfish for three hours.

The 25-year-old said: “I got a bit of a surprised reaction from people, especially when the crayfish were crawling all over me and started to nip.

“We were right in the middle of the Covered Market and we put on a bit of a show. My colleagues in the shop were dressed as clowns and my manager had all his hair shaved off.

“We raised about £500 thanks to everyone’s generosity.”

At Cotswold Wildlife Park, near Burford, staff impersonated the animals by dressing up as penguins, wolves, crocodiles and cows as about £1,000 in coppers was retrieved from the park’s fountain.

Spokesman Carole Chapman said: “We’ve had local schoolchildren down and some of the keepers have brought out some of the animals — we’ve had two miniature sheep, a snake and a bird of prey — and everybody’s really enjoyed it.”

Odd pairs of shoes were the order of the day for staff and pupils at New Marston Primary School, in Cox Lane.

Deputy headteacher Amy Pearce said: “We asked all the pupils for suggestions and one of them came up with the idea.

“All the 220 pupils and staff have been wearing them, and some of the children have decorated their shoes with tinsel and ribbon and made them look like Pudsey. We hope to have raised about £100.”

At the Kingfisher special school, in Radley Road, Abingdon, about £100 was collected as 70 pupils enjoyed a day in fancy dress while the staff wore pyjamas.

The sleepy theme continued at Imagine Co-operative Childcare, in Cuddesdon Way, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, where staff and children wore their nightclothes and took part in a number of games to raise about £200.