HARD rock fan Chris Swain raised charity cash by parting with his waist-length locks -- and he hopes that smartening up will help him get a job.

Unemployed Chris, 26, who has had long hair for more than a decade, had the short back and sides to raise money for arthritis and psoriasis care at Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

Chris's flowing brown locks got the chop yesterday at the Judge Walmesley pub in Whalley New Road, Billington, where he is a regular.

But he will have to wait and see what his girlfriend Sinead McCallugh thinks -- she lives in Northern Ireland and is anxiously waiting for him to e-mail her a picture of his new look.

Chris, of Chapel Rise, Billington, has already raised £350 and is looking to get the final total up to £500. One of his reasons he had such distinctive hair was that he was a fan of long-haired rock bands like Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne.

Chris, a former bass guitarist in several local bands, said: "I have been clinging on my old rock and roll days, but I've decided now is the time to smarten up.

He said: "I am unemployed at the moment and that is one reason why I chose to do it now. I want to find work as a computer programmer and that is very much an office environment. I have got about an inch left on top and half an inch on the sides, so hopefully it should make me a bit more employable.

"Sinead and I have been talking about it and she thinks it is a good idea, although she doesn't quite know what I'm going to look like without my hair."

Chris won't be saying a complete goodbye to his hair -- he has taken it home as a memento of his old look.

Pub licensee Paul Cryer has helped with the appeal and Chris's hair was cut by Kelly Hughes from the Kelly Hughes Salon in Whalley.