GLASSES were raised at a packed riverside pub on Sunday as a boater and a businessman underwent a 'grand shave' for Marie Curie and Cancer Research UK.

The charity chop at the Rock of Gibraltar in Enslow was organised by Dave Dawg, 59, who cultivated a multicoloured beard for the occasion to honour a friend with cancer.

He was joined at the eleventh hour by Richard Milliken-Smith, a friend who had come along to lend his support, and between them the pair raised about £750.

Mr Dawg, who is based in Enslow, began growing his goatee last October as a friend in his late 40s is undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer.

He said: "My friend has been absolutely brilliant the whole way through. I thought I would try to raise a bit of money."

By the onset of spring the beard was about 4.5 inches long and vividly dyed with streaks of green, red, purple, magenta, pink and blue.

On Sunday a crowd gathered to watch - and donate hundreds of pounds - as Witney hairdresser Alex Brailsford wielded the electric razor for the sponsored shave.

Mr Dawg said: "My friend Alex had done the evil and I grabbed a pint. It doesn't bother me too much; I was going to shave it off anyway.

"I would have been happy with £50 to £100 but we have raised more than £500 in this pub alone."

Mr Milliken-Smith, who runs Bicester-based promotions firm Print Run, had his long hair shaved into a mohican and then down to a number one.

The 57-year-old lost his mother Elizabeth Crutchley to cancer a year and a half ago. She received specialist care from Marie Curie nurses before her death aged 81.

He said: "I really wanted to raise money for Marie Curie. They were fantastic for my mother; it was the least I could do.

"The pub didn't think I was going to do something so stupid but if it's for Marie Curie I am glad I did."

All funds raised through sponsorship and on the day will be split between Cancer Research UK, which funds groundbreaking global research into future cancer treatments, and Marie Curie, which provides nurses for expert one-to-one care for people with terminal illnesses and their families.