Security guard Barry Pugh claims he was given the chop for having long hair - despite going for TWO haircuts, writes Rebecca Smith.

Barry, 21, had worked for the Pentagon security firm for only an hour when he was told to go and get a cut.

But when he went back to work at Unigate Dairies, in Kidlington, bosses said it still wasn't good enough and he was told not to come back until he had another haircut.

Barry had it cut short at the back with a centre parting - but now his boss told him the style was not good enough and he was sacked. Barry, of Hockmore Tower, Cowley, Oxford - a security guard for three years - said: "It is just not on. My hair wasn't long. It was a bit scruffy and starting to curl up at my collar but I was going to get it cut anyway. I never let my hair grow. I consider my hair quite short. Nothing was said at the interview about my hair."

Barry, who was unemployed for three months after a previous security company closed, said the two haircuts cost him £20. "I think they just don't like me and they wanted to get rid of me. I think they were discriminating against me. They prefer short tidy hair.

"I think it is down to the job performance and not the haircut."

A spokesman for Pentagon - based in Rossendale, Lancashire - would not comment on the case but said officers had to look smart because they were in a position of authority.

Story date: Wednesday 19 May

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