IT WAS the end of an era for a Cirencester office worker on Friday when he kissed goodbye to his long locks in the name of charity.

Phil Quinn, head of IT at income protection firm, Cirencester Friendly, has sported long hair ever since 1998.

But brave Phil allowed fellow worker Nicole Howell to shave it off to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK and head injury charity, Headway Gloucester.

His head shave was part of a day of fundraising for the two charities at the firm's Dyer Street office, which raised more than £500.

Although feeling much lighter, Phil said afterwards that he has no regrets about shedding his locks because cash was raised for good causes.

“It feels weird but I have wanted to cut my hair for quite a while, so why not do it for charity.

And Phil insists that his long hair days are well and truly over.

“It is not as though it is going to come back. It is running away.”

Office workers were given a break from their computer screens to take part in a whole host of fun activities throughout the day, including a cake and book sale, guess the baby photo, and an authentic Asian style lunch.

Paul Hudson, chief executive of Cirencester Friendly: “I think everybody has been great and very involved and it is a great opportunity for people to get together.“We thought it would be good to select prostate cancer which has taken a lot of lives this year. Headway Gloucester is a good choice because we have clients who have head injuries.”

“The day helps break down the silo mentality which sometimes builds up in the department.”