A SMOOTH-FACED Ben Shiell from Farnham is almost unrecognisable after having his beard, which he has been growing for a year in aid of the National Autistic Society, shaved off.

Ben said goodbye to his bushy beard which he started growing in April 2015, at Headcase Barbers in Upper Church Lane, Farnham, which agreed to host an event in aid of the shave.

He said: “The year went very well, I was amazed by the number of people that took an interest in what I was doing and why. The amount of support and money received was far more than I ever imagined so I don’t think it could’ve gone much better.

“I’m very proud to have done this, it was my son, Noah, who came up with the idea. He finds beards funny and wanted to see what it’d look like after a year – now he’s saying he wants me to grow one for two years!

“We managed to raise £1,583 with a few donations still to come so I’m hoping it will creep over £1,750. We wanted to raise the money for NAS [National Autistic Society] due to Noah having Aspergers Syndrome which is a form of autism and since his diagnosis, they have been a great source of support for us as well as many other families both before and after diagnosis.”

The money raised will go towards helping raise awareness of autism and in turn, making the day-to-day lives of those connected to autism a bit easier.

“There are still many misconceptions about autism and some can be quite damaging to the individuals who live with this disorder so if this money can help change that for one person then it’ll all have been worth it” added Ben.