A FATHER of seven girls has not washed in 37 years because a priest told him it would guarantee a son.

Farmer Kailash Singh, 65, whose dreadlocks are six feet long, has not touched water, save to rinse his mouth and hands, since 1974.

Instead, he takes a "fire bath" every night – smoking marijuana, praying to the Hindu god Lord Shiva and dancing around a bonfire.

The farmer, from Chatav, India, where temperatures regularly reach 47C, said: "Children tease me and my wife doesn't like it, but she must bear all the hardships I have to bear.

"I have no son, so I will never wash again."

Wife Kalavati Devi, 60, said: "I abused him and cried when he told me about his senseless decision.

"I even threatened to stop sleeping with him but he is my husband so there was little I could do about it.

"He says he'd rather die than take a bath."