A GROUP of men have whipped off their clothes to pose naked for a charity calendar.

Wayne Carter from Ashwell, and his friends decided to strip for the Blue Ribbon Foundation, which raises awareness of male health issues – particularly cancer.

The idea came about in 2011 after Wayne, 29, and his friends were growing moustaches for the annual male cancer awareness campaign Movember, when they hit upon an idea to do something different for 2012.

“The Movember event is excellent but we wanted to give a bit more to help raise awareness of male cancers, so we decided to strip off and make a male calendar,” said Wayne.

And that was just the start of a project which kept Wayne, his friends, and professional photographer Adam Elgood, busy for much of 2012.

The result is a calendar which features 13 young men, devoid of all clothing, bravely posing at a number of locations in and around Baldock and Arlesey.

“We had to make it fun, so we chose lots of different locations. For example, at a florist’s in Arlesey, the lady who owned it gave us permission, providing she could take the photographs,” added Wayne

The calendar, entitled Twelve Shades of Blue, goes on sale this week at �6 and, as well as different monthly locations, includes health advice for men and women.

A Facebook page has been set up for people to order their calendar. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/twelveshades/ or call Wayne on 07921 000115.