Lifesaving locks: Indian man with 62FT-LONG hair says his dreadlocks have helped save a drowning boy's life after he fell into a pond

An Indian man who downs six glasses of milk a day to keep his 62-feet-long (15m) hair in top condition has revealed how his locks once helped pluck a drowning boy to safety.

Savjibhai Rathwa, of Vadodara, India's Gujarat state, has become a local attraction because of his lengthy tresses, which he has refused to cut for more than five decades after being visited by a deity in his dreams.

The 65-year-old explained: 'I was 12 when I got the swapnadesh (direction in a dream) from Lord Shiva that I should never cut my hair. It is since then I have been growing my hair.'