Nine men went to the pub last Thursday and came away without hair. They were helping a Silsden man who is raising money for a specialist cancer unit, and his friends.

Matthew Bentley, 27, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in January and has been undergoing treatment, but it didn't stop him heading to his local, the Punchbowl Inn, to raise £321 for the hospital which treated him.

Matthew's girlfriend Annette organised the sponsored headshave for five of Matthew's friends, but in the end he and another couple of people joined in and his dad, Robert, also braved the razor.

Robert said: "We have at least three more lots of sponsorship money to come in and are hoping to raise about £1,000. We want to thank everyone involved, and there are a couple more possible events in the pipeline."

When Matthew was first diagnosed he underwent a course of chemotherapy at Cookridge Hospital, in Leeds. He still has another two courses to go before he can get back to his normal life.

His chemotherapy will finish in April, just four months after he was diagnosed with the disease.

Matthew said: "The main reason for the event is that we have a centre in this area for treating cancer, and that centre has to raise quite a lot of capital to keep running.

"Without it I would have to travel a lot further, and this could have delayed the whole process.

"People should appreciate the facilities that are available - you never know when you are going to need them."

Matthew, a computer software lecturer at Bradford College, said he first noticed something was wrong when he suffered permanent backache and then noticed an enlarged testicle.

Doctors found a tumour and within a week they had removed it. But the backache remained - and doctors then discovered a swollen lymph gland which had a cancerous tumour, and it had to be removed.

Matthew stressed the importance of an early diagnosis. Treatment for testicular cancer is very effective, but early diagnosis is vital and it is recommended that men regularly check themselves for changes. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer that affects young men between 20 and 34. More than half of people with testicular cancer are under 35,with only 15 per cent over 50.