A PWLLHELI man who grew his beard for a year following a bet has now raised over £500 by shaving it all off for charity.

Hugh Richards decided to grow his beard after he placed a bet with a friend and then decided to raise money towards Cancer Research Wales by shaving it off in February.

The 38-year-old, who works for Showsec Security in London, and has provided protection for celebrities such as Andy Murray, hopes to raise as much money as he can for the charity.

He said: “My beard all started as a bet, but I have been growing it for a year now and it has started to become really long and uncomfortable on my face, but I was sad to see it go!

“I’d heard about people doing fund-raising events like this before and thought I might as well turn this bet into something positive and raise money for a good cause.

“I was walking down the high street one day and saw a woman wearing a Cancer Research Wales badge, which is when I thought why not give something back to a fantastic charity like that.”

The big shave-off took place on 13 February at The Castle in Pwllheli during the Wales vs Scotland Six Nations match.

A total of £515 was raised towards Cancer Res­earch Wales.

Hugh added: “I would like to thank Dewi Roberts and others who have helped, supported and donated.”