Hated hairy beard grown by Devon Freewheelers blood biker from Tiverton raises funds for Honiton-based charity

The annual shearing of hated hairy beard grown by a Devon Freewheelers blood biker from Tiverton has raised more than £250 for the charity, based in Honiton.

Each year blood bike volunteer Steve Nash, from Tiverton, mid Devon, grows a winter beard in a bid to beat face freeze when he is out on the motorbike, supporting the NHS with the free courier service.

Married Steve, aged 58, said he was this year begged to bin the beard by friends and family, who urged 'why don't you shave it off?'.

Recently-retired Steve, of Moorlands, Moorhayes, in Tiverton, said comments about the face fuzz came in fast with donations.

Former Cabinet Office civil servant Steve said: "I didn't realise that my beard was so disliked. People have been saying 'please shave it off' a lot this this year. My wife said 'why don't you shave it off again, I really don't like it'.

He added: "The team I used to manage at the civil service were based in Newscastle. I hadn't seen them face-to-face because of Covid. They knew me from zoom calls. I sent them a message telling them I was going to shave my beard off for the blood bikes.

"They have been really generous, but maybe that's because really they didn't like it."

Steve started growing the beard in October and hoped it could stay until Easter to keep his face warm during his nine-week retirement-present bike trip.

Beard shave donations and the addition of funds from a family garage clearance sale meant Steve presented the Devon Freewheelers with £256.

Steve said: "I reached a total and I promised I would shave it off, so it's gone.

Some of the other blood bikers who are ex-forces teased me, saying I had gone Father Christmas and Special Forces on them." This year Steve's beard was removed by a professional barber. In 2021, the pandemic lockdown meant wife Tracey took control of the clippers. She said having a hairy-faced husband was 'like kissing a hedgehog'. Steve said: "It's quite a nice way to get some money for the charity. It's a bit different from running a marathon, and less effort." Russell Roe, Devon Freewheelers CEO, at the charity's Heathpark Industrial Estate headquarters, in Honiton, said: "We know most people don't like Steve's winter beard, but we are very fond of it because of the unique way it raises funds for the charity. "With eye-watering petrol prices showing no signs of slowing, keeping the blood bikes' fuel tanks topped up is proving more costly, so every penny Steve and his beard has raised is much appreciated. "We would also like to thank Steve's wife, Tracey, for putting up with the beard for so long so he could raise as much as possible for the Devon Freewheelers." As part of the annual beard shave, Stephen turns into a human game of Kerplunk – poking pencils into his facial hair. Stephen's latest beard held 25 pencils, beating last year's total of 20 and 2020's tally of 16. The challenge was started by the couple's medic son, Edward, when he sent his dad a photo of his own facial hair holding six. Steve said: "He used to grow a beard at Christmas, and being a dad, I had to beat him. But he's in the army now and can't have a beard so it's become a bit of an irrelevant competition. "This year I smashed the record; I ran out of pencils." Steve said the annual beard grow and shave 'may not happen again', but said he was tempted to copy 'another beardy' who was allowed to cultivate his face fuzz from when the clocks go back in October, removing it at the start of British Summer Time when the clocks go forward in March.