Security guard with a tumour on his face, sacked after customers complained about his looks

Sipho Hadebe, 39, who has a large tumour growing on his face was sacked from his job because his appearance was upsetting customers. He has been living with the gradually expanding growth for 12 years - but it has now got so large he struggles to breathe, DailyMail reports.

Doctors have said the tumour is putting pressure on his respiratory airway and an examination confirmed within a year he would no longer be able to breathe. His local hospital had him on a waiting list which meant he would have had to wait for 7 years before he could have the operation to remove the tumour - the only way he can get his job back.

But because his income is so low and completely reliant on his wife who works in a supermarket, he began to fundraise in a desperate attempt to ease his suffering. And now, after strangers have donated more than £2,000, he is set to undergo private treatment that experts believe will save his life.

A team of doctors at Lowveld Hospital, in Mpumalanga provice, South Africa, have offered their services to ease the pressure on his lungs.

They will perform a 7-hour reconstructive surgery once all of the funds - believed to be around the £3,000 mark - are in place for his rehabilitation.