A mother-of-two rowed the River Thames in memory of her husband who died of a brain tumour.

Theresa Dauncey’s husband Jorge Cordova was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2004. He died aged 44 in August 2011, leaving two young daughters.

Ms Dauncey, who lives in Haringey, took part in the Great River Race a 22-mile challenge up the River Thames to raise £5,000 for the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, London, where Jorge was treated.

She and 17 other rowers raised the money on behalf of The National Brain Appeal, a charity that helps hospitals fundraise for clinical trials.

Ms Dauncey has a history in charity work, and while her husband underwent treatment, she took on a role as the chief executive of the National Brain Appeal in 2006.

The 49-year-old said: “Looking back, knowing that when I went to work all through Jorge’s periods of illness, I was helping people like my husband. It still motivates me today.

“The outlook for patients in terms of treatment options and long-term prognosis was bleak back then. Sadly it still is.”

Ms Dauncey and her crew took part in the race in a Dragon Boat.

The Dragon Boat is a shallow canoe that originated from China and is not suited for the fast-moving water of the River Thames.

She added: “It was a bit scary at first, we thought we might end up falling in.

“The water was a bit choppy because of the wake from some of the bigger boats.

“The water in the Thames is not the sort of thing you want to drink if you fall in, and we got soaked while we raced.

“When we finished the race, we were wet and cold, and everyone just wanted to get out of our wet clothes.”

The Great River Race started at Millwall Riverside, Docklands at around 10am and finished 21.6 miles up the River Thames at Ham House in Richmond.

Ms Dauncey said: “People warned me it was not going to be easy.

“We started around 10am and thought it was going to be about four hours hard rowing.”

Ms Dauncey and her crew finished the race in 2 hours and 45 minutes.