PEOPLE in Abingdon should not be alarmed if they see a giant, pink, inflatable dog pursuing a man swimming down the River Thames this afternoon.

A group of nine men and one woman, including an Oxford doctor, are in the middle of a 155-mile doggy paddle from Lechlade to Tower Bridge in London to help fund stem cell research ­­– pursued by a giant, pink dog.

The “Thames Doggy” swimmers set off from St John’s Lock, Lechlade, yesterday at 9am and, taking it in turns in the water, have been solidly swimming since to fundraise for the UK Stem Cell Foundation.

Going at about 1mph, they reached Port Meadow in Oxford at 6am this morning, and reached Abingdon at about 2pm.

They will keep going, reaching the Wallingford area tonight and Henley-on-Thames by tomorrow evening, they hope.

Among their number is 34-year-old Oxford sport and medicine doctor Hamish Reid, who also holds the Guinness World Record for being part of the first ever duo to row all the way around the British Isles in 2010.

Organiser James Taylor, 35, from Maidenhead, was paralysed himself from the neck down in a diving accident nine years ago.

He put the Thames Doggy team together with Dr Reid, and said today: “It’s going very well.

“It is all doggy paddle which is pretty difficult and tiring so the guys are struggling somewhat but making very good progress.”

The journey has already raised more than £10,000 for the charity, and the swimmers hope to raise £50,000 by the time they reach Tower Bridge on Thursday.