Video: Hair-raising lockdown trims raise more than £3,000

THE closure of hairdressers under the coronavirus lockdown has paid off for New Forest fundraisers who shaved beards and barnets to collect more than £3,000 for charity.

Clinton McCarthy, managing director at Ringwood-based developer Churchill Retirement Living, took a “spur of the moment” decision to put his head under the clippers wielded by his wife Kathryn, alongside his daughter’s fiancé, Charlie Kearns.

Between the two of them they raised £2,817 for Oakhaven Hospice by having the whole event streamed online live via Zoom.

Mr Kearns said: “I used to live next door to the hospice and know what a brilliant job they do. Clinton and I thought they may be left out of charity fundraising at the moment, so we decided we would do our bit to help.”

Mr Kearns is engaged to the daughter of Mr McCarthy, Emma, who filmed the head shave at their home in Boldre. A spokesperson for Oakhaven Hospice said: “It was a fantastic achievement.”

Hundreds more was raised when a learning assistant at Brockenhurst College shaved off his beard in aid of the National Autistic Society.

Reece Wells said he was “overjoyed” to have been able to donate £500 when he had originally hoped to gather just £75.

Mr Wells posted footage of the event on a JustGiving webpage with the message: “Thank you to everyone who donated – I’ve absolutely smashed my target.

“I have seen a variety of challenges that these young people (with autism) have to go through at various different points in their schooling lives – whether it be transitions to a new school or accessing mainstream education for the first time in their lives.”