A PWLLHELI man who has grown his beard for a year following a bet will now shave it all off to raise funds for charity.
Hugh Richards decided to grow his beard after he placed a bet with a friend, but has now decided to raise money towards Cancer Research Wales by shaving it off next month.
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.
“It’s really long and has started to become a bit uncomfortable on my face, but I will be sad to see it go!
“I’d heard about people doing fundraising 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 former Ysgol Glan y Môr pupil has recently moved down to London to take on a new security role.
He said: “I have worked on the doors of the pubs of Pwllheli for many years and I was asked by a friend to come down to London to work for Showsec and I thought I’d give it a go.
“It’s very different to what I was use to, I was also a teaching assistant in Hafod Lon for a number of years as well, so a lot has changed for me in the last few months.
“It’s a great experience, I’ve done security for Andy Murray recently which was great and I’m also involved in a lot of security for events in London.”
The big shave off will take place on 13 February at The Castle in Pwllheli during half-time of the Wales vs Scotland Six Nations match.
Hugh added: “It would be great if everyone in the community could lend their support to this and help raise money for this worthy cause.
“Please feel free to come along on 13 February and join in on the fun!”
To support Hugh and donate visit www.justgiving.com/Hugh-Richards.