EARLY morning passers by down at the River Thames have been goggle eyed with surprise lately after witnessing four grown men in swimming caps emerging from the water.

Four friends from Marlow have been taking a dip as part of their training to tackle a much less calm stretch of the wet stuff.

The group of mates – Chris Newell, 29, Heath Freeman, 39, Peter Frost, 33, and Jeremy Lovell Davis, 32 - will have to brave the open seas when they swim the English channel later this month.

They have been training in the early hours by the footpath near Marlow Rugby club.

However, in order to make the French connection they will have to avoid swarms of jellyfish and steer clear of tankers.

“We are all swimmers and were up for the challenge and we are quite keen to get going now,” Mr Newell, a business manager, said.

“It's probably going to be a lot colder than the river and we're a bit worried about that.”

Mr Newell, who works for Vantis in Station Road, Marlow, said: “We've had some odd looks from dog walkers and passers by at the river but they've been great and some have sponsored us.”

Captain Andy King – the man who aided Little Britain star David Walliams to cross the channel in his boat – will accompany the group.

The foursome, who will swim for an hour each in a relay format, hope to raise cash for three charities – CLIC Sargent, RNLI and Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

Mr Newell will wear pink speedos if he reaches his target of £1,500 before the swim.