Man with facial tumour sacked after customers complained about his looks

Sipho Hadebe

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 that 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 province, 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.