A group of walkers are on a mission to raise money for a homeless charity by walking the length of the River Thames.

The ‘Loopy Walkers’, made up of volunteers, trustees and colleagues at Branches Homeless Hostel will trek from its source in the Cotswolds hills to its mouth in London, 184 miles away.

The group will start the first stage of the walk on Friday, May 10, from the Thames Head near Kemble with the aim of reaching Oxford, just 54 miles away in three days.

The group will pass through Ashton Keynes, Cricklade, Lechlade and Castle Eaton before reaching reaching their target of Oxford.

All money raised will go to the Branches Homeless Hostel, a 27-bed purpose-built hostel in Walthamstow, providing short term housing for single homeless people.

A spokesman for the charity said: "All monies raised will go towards establishing our own in-house specialist clinical practitioner who will offer an enhanced level of support through day-to-day clinical involvement to those with mental health needs.

"£30 will help provide one hour’s specialist support to our clients."

Previously, the group have walked 238 miles by completing the London LOOP, which is 150 miles long and London’s Capital Ring Walk - 78 miles.

By completing both walks, they have raised almost £9000 to purchase kitchen equipment and to help fund the work of the resettlement service.

Their final challenge is to walk the length of the River Thames over the summer of 2019 starting this week.

If you would like to support the Loopy Walkers and help them reach their £5,000 target, go to bit.ly/2VNe1Go