AN AMATEUR rower is hoping to raise £1,000 for a cancer charity after rowing 125 miles to London from Lechlade.

James Severin, 23, from Reading Road in Wallingford, pictured, covered the distance in five days working for up to 13 hours a day.

Mr Severin, who went to the Oratory School in Woodcote, undertook the challenge, between August 3 and August 7, in a single scull, donated by the Wallingford Rowing Club.

So far raised he has raised £725 for Children with Leukaemia.

He was accompanied by his friend and cox, Sam Welton, who rode beside him in a dinghy.

Mr Severin said: “I just wanted to do something for charity, and I thought it was a great cause. And I also wanted to see the Thames properly.

“The row went exactly to plan; apart from the first couple of days – which were quite hard, and it took quite a lot longer than I thought.

“The first day alone was 13 hours of rowing.”

Mr Severin also said that he had faced plenty of challenges along the way because of the strain of the rowing.

He also had trouble getting through each of the 42 locks as the boat was too large.

But he had a lot of support from his family, friends and rowing clubs.

Mr Severin said: “Everyone was so willing to help. I would not have been able to do it by myself.”

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/charityrow