A GROUP of solicitors has come within a whisker of raising £1,000 for charity after growing a variety of facial hair designs.

The moustachioed and bearded eight, based in the Burnley and Pendle areas, have raised the cash for Pendleside Hospice.

All have been appearing before Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Magistrates with their new looks, much to the amusement of court users.

The justices have been joining in sponsoring the lawyers, as have court staff, colleagues, families and friends.

The fund-raiser was the idea of Nick Dearing, who works for Southerns solicitors at their Burnley office.

He challenged a fellow advocate to a beard growing competition before realising that in Australia and New Zealand it is traditional for men to grow moustaches in November to support prostate cancer charities. Mr Dearing and the other solicitors decided to follow the Antipodean example and raise money for a good cause.

They chose the hospice and hope to have collected almost £1,000 after sporting their beards, mostly goatees, for about two weeks. Mr Dearing said this year's effort was just a run to see how it went but next year the solicitors may have their moustaches throughout November.

Most of the group is due for a shave this weekend and judging from their partners' verdicts on the beards, they will not be sorry.

Mr Dearing's wife Clare was not too keen on his tache and their daughter, Tabitha, two, was quick to say what she thought.

He said: "She said pirate' when she saw me!"