Longest fingernails chopped off after 66 years

Shridhar Chillal, the record holder of the longest fingernails  on a single hand has had them cut after 66 years.

The 82-year-old had been growing his nails since 1952, when he was 14, after being told off by a teacher for accidentally breaking his long nail.

"I don't know whether the teacher is dead now or not but I would definitely like to say that the thing for which you scolded me, I took it as a challenge and I have completed the challenge and now, I am here," he said.

The  66-year-old fingernails have been put on   display at  Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in New York.

"When I decided to cut my nails, it was difficult for me to make this decision," he said.

"But when I realised that after cutting my nails, my nails will be at Ripley's Believe It or Not! and they're going to maintain it very nicely and for a lifetime, then I felt like I was doing the right decision and that's why I decided to cut my nails."

His individual nails measured:

Little finger : 179.1 cm

Ring finger : 181.6 cm

Middle finger : 186.6 cm

Index finger : 164.5 cm

Thumb : 197.8 cm

Despite Mr Chillal's fingernails causing him to lose function in his left hand due to their weight and length, and his fingers being permanently fused together, he went on work as a photographer for a government agricultural magazine for 22 years.

He also married and had two children, and now has three grandchildren.