THE site manager of a popular Monmouthshire tourist attraction celebrated his 54th birthday by having his head shaved for a cancer charity today.

John Sterry, the site manager at the Old Station in Tintern, has already raised £610 for Macmillan Cancer Support by having his hair cut.

He said he was driven to undertake fundraising for the charity after his sister and neighbour fought their own battles against the disease.

“I wanted to support the cause. It is no effort, it’s not like running marathons,” he said.

Indeed, he has run several marathons and half marathons for the charity both in the UK and abroad, including the Barcelona half marathon and the Walt Disney World Marathon in Florida.

And he said of his new look: “I’m a walking advert now."

On what he was planning to do with his birthday, he said: “I’m just going to the have the rest of the day off and polish my head.

“People will say it looks nice now. It feels very different and it is clearly much colder.”

Mr Sterry was taking part in Macmillan’s Brave the Shave campaign, which has seen 19,130 people sign up to undertake their own headshave challenge across the UK, raising £1.12 million so far.

To donate to Mr Sterry’s fundraising visit justgiving.com/john-sterry1.