Police in Japan have charged 23-year-old student Akiya Yoshida with assault after he admitted snipping the locks of a woman on a rush-hour train in Nagoya, west of Tokyo.

Yoshida said he planned on selling the hair online, the newspaper Yomiuri reports.

The woman whose hair he is accused of cutting did not notice she was missing about 14 inches because the train was so busy.

Local police stepped up patrols earlier this year after receiving a number of similar complaints in the area.

It is believed that Yoshida may have committed up to 30 offences.