Man sets out to buy 'perfect face'

Mr Whitfield-Lyne is putting himself forward for surgery

A 32-year-old man from Staffordshire has set up a website in order to find sponsors to fund his quest for a perfect male face.

Tim Whitfield-Lyne, who is unemployed, estimates he will need at least £20,000 to realise his dream.

But one plastic surgery expert has said seeking to attain model looks is "ill-advised".

Mr Whitfield-Lyne, who insists he is not mentally ill, said anyone who did sponsor him would be able to have a say in how his face was changed.

He is also willing to have his surgery filmed for a TV documentary.

Tim Whitfield-Lyne: asking for sponsorship

Mr Whitfield-Lyne, a former public schoolboy, said: "I am happy with myself as an individual but I'm not happy with the exterior of my face when I look in the mirror.

"I want to restructure my face rather than keep the one that nature gave me.

"We all have choices in this world, and mine, as a unique individual, is to alter my appearance."

He added: "I am not mentally unstable or have major insecurity issues. The question is can surgery turn an average looking guy into someone with male model looks?"

'Ill-advised'

Mr Nicholas Parkhouse, a consultant plastic surgeon and spokesman for the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, told BBC News Online: "Plastic surgery in a quest for perfection based on models and film stars is ill-advised.

"The results are disappointing at best and at worst can result in devastating surgical damage and complications which may be very difficult to put right"

Dr Priscilla Choi, British Psychology Society chartered health psychologist said: "In society, we have a very large emphasis on physical appearance - that's very, very important.

"I don't see how the choice [of having cosmetic surgery] can't be available, given that we have got the technology and the knowledge about how to do it.

But Dr Choi, from Keele University added: "It's quite an extreme thing to do, and it's a shame that people feel they are not happy enough with what they look like."