Who was the first person to swim in the river thames?

On the 5th September 2011 the comedian, David Walliams (Little Britain), began his swim for the charity Sport Relief.

He stepped into the Thames at Lechlade and swam a determined length each day. He was taken ill shortly after beginning his swim through contact and digestion of dirty river water. This caused a slight delay to the schedule, but he bravely got back in wearing a wetsuit and continued swimming the 140 miles planned of the 215 mile river until he reached Westminster Bridge in central London on the 12th September 2011. It was estimated at this point that his swim earned the charity well over 1 million pounds in donations.

David even managed to save a dog along the way !

This is not David's first swim for the charity. He has already swam the English Channel in 2006 and the Straight-of-Gibraltar in 2008.