THESE brave souls had an unusual way of keeping the festive spirit alive – taking a dip in the river.

It had become a tradition of members of the Oxford Diving Club at Christmas.

When this picture was taken in 1990, the Thames at Osney Marina was running too fast for anyone to dive into the main stream.

But the team were determined not to be beaten, so they submerged themselves in a back stream.

Committee member Peter Bradley, of Weyland Road, Headington, was in the water for about 30 minutes.

He said: “We’ve been doing this for about 18 years. It’s not really a serious dive – just a bit of bravado. It was cold and visibility was nil – it was so black in the water you couldn’t see a thing.”