John Lennon: Beatles star's locks sell for $35,000

Lennon had a haircut shortly before acting in How I Won The War

A lock of hair snipped from the head of John Lennon 50 years ago has fetched $35,000 (£25,000) at auction in the US.

The four-inch (10cm) lock was kept by a German barber who gave him a trim as he was about to film How I Won The War in 1966.

The unnamed buyer was a British-based collector of memorabilia, auctioneers said.

"This is the largest lock of Lennon's hair ever sold at auction," Heritage Auction in Dallas, Texas, said.

Spokesman Garry Schrum said the bidder got a "good chunk of Lennon's hair", adding: "It was a good size with quite a lot of strands."

Lennon's locks were chopped by Klaus Baruck in Hamburg, Germany, just before the rocker's starring role as Gripweed in Richard Lester's dark comedy about a British army platoon and their misadventures in World War II.

The haircut took place just a month after the release of the band's legendary 1966 Revolver album.

John Lennon had his hair cut shortly before filming How I Won The War