Comedian to swim Thames

LITTLE BRITAIN star David Walliams is braving raw sewage and deadly diseases to raise money for charity by swimming the length of the Thames.

The comedian will be setting off from Ledbury on the Herefordshire-Gloucestershire border and will swim 225km over eight days to reach Big Ben in London.

Walliams’ epic swim will also see him brave bitingly cold river water, which can cause cramp and breathing spasms.

As well as carefully navigating the busy river traffic, Walliams will have to deal with murky water that harbours a cocktail of bacteria such as E coli, salmonella and hepatitis.

Walliams will also have to avoid 39 million cubic metres of raw sewage that finds its way into the Thames every year.

The BT Sport Relief Challenge, which begins on September 5, will be filmed for a documentary to be broadcast in the build up to the Sport Relief Weekend next March.