Publican braves the shave to raise funds for charity

Jamie Smith had his hair and beard shaved off inside the Jack Jigger Taylor pub in Brownhills as part of his campaign to raise funds for MacMillan Cancer Research and Dementia UK.

The shaving took place on Friday, June 16 on Mr Smith's 42nd birthday and he said it was a bit of momentary discomfort to raise funds to help two charities which were close to his heart.

He said: "The company my partner Natalie Halls works, Greene King, does a lot for MacMillan and, as a publican, I try and do my bit and decided to brave the shave which, while I didn't have long hair, I had a beard which was pretty long.

"I decided to go through with it for the MacMillan side, while the dementia side came from losing my nan last year to a stroke, but we knew that she had dementia and Alzheimer's, so I thought it would be good to raise money for that as well.

"The results and what's been raised has been phenomenal, with more than four grand raised, and it reflects on the family vibe that I've got inside this pub with all the customers and the community feeling we all have."

Mr Smith said he had raised £4,360 to date and spoke of being stunned, having only previously imagined that he would raise £1,000.

He said the plan was to do more fundraising in the future with his partner and for MacMillan and other charities and said that while the bald head and beard was taking a bit of time to get used to, it was worth it for the cause.

He said: "People coming up to me and saying it really suits me, but I've had that beard for so long that I don't recognise myself without it and, actually, I look just like the boxer Butterbean.

"Seriously though, I will do more in the future for MacMillan and for some children cancer charities and we will also continue to support Help for Heroes and the British Legion.

"I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported me and sponsored me and I'm just blown away by the community spirit."