SOMERSET cricketers got rid of their itchy upper lips on the first day of this month after raising £2,120 for men's charities.

Lewis Gregory, Jack Leach, Roelof van der Merwe and Paul van Meekern, along with head of strength and conditioning Darren Veness raised the cash by growing moustaches during November.

Their participation, in association with the Wellington-based Real Shaving Company, in the annual Movember initiative raised the money to increase awareness and help tackle prostate and testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.

Lewis Gregory said: "It's really important to raise money and awareness for such a good cause and we all had a lot of fun doing it.

"I'd really like to thank everyone who donated to our team and also Roelof, Jack, and Daz for joining me in this.

"Special mention has to go to Paul though who even had 'Movember' shaved in to his head."

Liam Salvage from The Real Shaving Company said: “We hope to have raised not just funds but also awareness on the importance of men’s health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.

"It's vital to us that men take care of their health and feel they can openly discuss these issues."