A regional daily journalist who cut his own hair after getting “lockdown fever” has raised cash for charity by dying it too.

Swindon Advertiser reporter Tom Seaward shared his advice on “how not to cut your hair” after attempting a DIY trim at home.

In a feature for the Advertiser, Tom explained how he was faced with “disaster” after an incident with a pair of clippers he had bought for himself left him realising he had made a “huge mistake”.

Tom, pictured, told of how he was left “doing a passing impression of a Medieval monk’s tonsure” before his housemate, a former hairdresser, managed to mitigate much of the damage.

Tom shared his experience on Twitter, prompting BBC journalist Emma Volney to ask him whether he would dye his new cut.

In response, he confirmed he would dye it any colour of the challenger’s choice in exchange for a £50 donation to Great Western Hospital charity Brighter Futures’ coronavirus appeal.

Any colour you want, as long as you donate £50 to @BF_NHS https://t.co/1RSOG7gqtq

— Tom Seaward (@Adver_TSeaward) April 25, 2020

In his feature, Tom wrote: “I say it in expectation that the donation will not be made. It is. I’m sent a note confirming it.

“Pink or grey is the choice. Having never dyed my hair before I go for pink. By the time I have to go back into a crown court press bench I’m sure it’ll have washed out.

“I dye it stood over my kitchen sink. The bleaching kit goes on first – although I’m forced to apply the thick white paste with a plastic fork as the kit I’ve bought from Boots is plastic-free and apparently fork free as a consequence.

“That done, and looking like a 1990s boyband idol, I daub on the pink dye. It looks like a sloppy paint and claims to be a lurid fuchsia. The first time I do it, it doesn’t seem to work. So I have another go and end up with a day-glow ginger bob.

“Even with hairdressing salons shut for the foreseeable future, I’m not sure I’d give cutting my own hair another go.”

You can read all our coronavirus-related stories here.