A Shropshire man, who has not cut his hair since he was 15 years old, has pledged to shave off his long blond locks in aid of charity.

Steve Jones’ hair reaches past his waist but he will chop it all off for the Severn Hospice on March 7 and wants to raise as much money as possible for his brave move.

Mr Jones, 32, of Minsterley, who works for the Rea Valley Speciality Foods factory, said although he had trimmed his hair, it had not been short since he was a teenager.

He said: “I just wanted long hair. It’s in quite a healthy condition. I do not do anything special to it. It’s already fairly straight so I don’t have to do that.

“People do comment on my hair. A lot of people tend to like it. It was ginger but now it’s more blond – a lot of it has gone white.”

Mr Jones said he wasn’t too worried about the prospect of having his head shaved.

He said: “I want to raise £1,000. We are having a disco at the village hall and some of the girls at work arranged it.”

But Mr Jones admitted he would miss his long locks. “It will be different after all these years,” he said. “It does take a long time to dry as it’s quite thick.”

The disco will take place at Minsterley Parish Hall at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for children, which includes light refreshments and a free raffle.

For more information, contact Amy Roberts on (01938) 580560, Jackie Davies on (01743) 790839 or Mel Rowson on (01743) 791720.