Eton rowers raise cash for hospice service

Rowers from an Eton club raised more than £2,000 for the Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service through a race along the River Thames.

More than 40 members of Eton Excelsior Rowing Club took part in the event on Saturday, April 12, which took in a 30km stretch of the river.

Crews of varying levels of experience set off from the Leander Club in Henley-on-Thames and rowed downstream to the clubhouse in Maidenhead Road, 18 miles away.

Eton club chairman Peter Clements said: "We had to go through seven locks and most people had never done that before. It was a long way, I'm not sure everyone had appreciated how far 30km was beforehand, but a long winter of training meant everyone finished in good time and with a smile on their faces."

Some of the £2,000 raised will go towards the hospice campaign, while the rest will be used to increase the club's fleet of boats.