NEVER judge a book by its cover, or so the saying goes.

And never could a truer word be spoken about 6ft 5in tall ‘The Scary Guy’.

Mr Scary Guy, who changed his name in 1998 to reflect his appearance, is covered in tattoos and piercings, and sports a bright red mohawk haircut.

To many he may look intimidating and not the sort of man you would want to meet on a dark night on your way home.

But for the last decade the mild-mannered former tattoo artist from Minnesota has travelled around the world challenging people’s stereotypes.

The anti-bullying campaigner teaches an oath of seven pledges, which includes always helping others, resolving conflicts without violence and never smoking or taking drugs.

Yesterday he gave talks and demonstrations to 1,300 pupils at Ribblesdale High School in Clitheroe to share his message that it is OK for people to be different.

And the youngsters seem to have taken on board what he had to say.

One 15-year-old admitted that he thought Mr Scary Guy was a bit weird and was just going to shout at pupils before he began his talk.

Instead he found that the American was funny, and learned a lot from what he had to say.

His message is one we should all take note of next time we are tempted to judge someone because of the way they look.