A WINCHESTER man put himself through a hairy situation for charity.

Tony Mant, a companion at homeless charity Emmaus Hampshire in Bar End, raised £100 for Royal Hampshire County Hospital after having his long beard and hair shaved off.

The money is going to the hospital's Magic Wand appeal to refurbish the children's ward and Mr Mant, 54, said he chose the charity because he used to work with disabled children in his home town Basingstoke.

He said: “I wanted to help local children and when we drew up a list of local charities I thought of this one because I knew it has a lot of money to raise. I used to work with disabled children and children with special needs so I thought it was important to help the hospital.”

Vanessa Ellis, deputy community leader at Emmaus Hampshire, added: “We are really happy to be helping a local charity and the children of Winchester.”

Mr Mant raised £200 overall and the other half will go to the Emmaus Companions' Fund to pay for leisure activities like trips to football matches.

The appeal has so far paid for new toys for the children and revamping the reception area.

Dr Simon Struthers, consultant paediatrician, said: “Tony has done a fantastic job. This kind of money makes such a difference to the day-to-day care of children in our area and we really appreciate it.”