THEY say there is no gain without pain - and Dean Manley certainly took that to heart when he went for a sponsored strip with a difference.

Dean, 29, who is registered blind, had his legs and chest waxed after deciding to go for the smooth look as part of a fundraising bid.

Dean wants to buy a special computer to help him read letters and other documents.

So he bravely asked if Southampton City College could supply a beauty therapist to wax his chest and legs and help raise the £1,400 he needed for the computer. He was watched during his ordeal by users of Semble House disabled centre in the Polygon, where he works as a volunteer.

After his hair-raising experience, Dean, of Brookwood Road, Millbrook, said: "It wasn't too painful.

"I got people to sponsor me and I think I've raised enough. I really wanted the computer because it'll give me more independence really - it has a scanner so I can scan over whatever I want to read and the computer programmes the information and reads it back to you."

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