REVELLERS enjoyed a hair-raising night when a pub regular whipped out the body wax in aid of a good cause.

Tony Leonard underwent the chest and back wax at his Darcy Lever local to raise money for research into a rare and debilitating illness which affects a three-year-old Astley Bridge girl.

The 42-year-old entertained a packed Levers Arms pub in Top o' th' Lane, but suffered as manageress Gail Brockbank attacked him with the body wax.

Waxing Tony, who returned to Darcy Lever two years ago after emigrating to New Zealand as a young man, proved to be a mammoth task and Gail had to allow him to rest between having his chest and back stripped.

Tony brought along plenty of supporters, including his brother and actor Patrick McGuinness, who is well known in Bolton for playing the bouncer in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights.

The body wax raised £270 for research into the disorder Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), which affects little Luciana Wulkan. Luciana faces a difficult future after being diagnosed with the illness which turns soft tissue in the body to bone.

Gail said: "The poor man was in agony. It took a long time to complete, but he was ever such a good sport -- and the whole thing was his idea."