Patients and staff at Sobell House hospice in Oxford will be saying thanks to the 'Thong Rangers', a group of 10 Didcot residents who raised £9,000 by running half-naked from the hospice to Didcot Hospital.

Cliff Oakes, from Kynaston Road, Didcot, with fellow runners David Brewerton, Aaron Wright and Michael Rendell, did the run carrying a 60lb, eight-foot-long telegraph pole and the others were there to support him.

Eight men and two women ran in thongs, although the women wore bikini tops.

Mr Brewerton, of Ernest Road, Didcot, said: "It was amazing. People rushed up to us with money, cheered us on and laughed at us."

The 'Thong Rangers' are planning a pub crawl in November.