Hartlepool fundraiser to shave off 8.5 inch hair grown over lockdown for charity

Snip Snip. Charity runner Phil Holbrook is taking part in Brave The Shave in aid of Alice House Hospice and Macmillan.

Phil Holbrook, 61, from the Fens area of Hartlepool, will have all of his hair shaved off to raise money for Alice House Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support.

His kindness will also reach another continent when his hair is sent to an American charity, called Children With Hair Loss, which makes wigs for children who have lost their hair through illness.

Phil, who is a member of Hartlepool Male Voice Choir as well as a keen runner, pledged at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020 that he will not have his hair cut until the choir was able to do another concert.

Nearly two years later, the moment has almost arrived and the choir will hold its Christmas concert on Friday, December 3, at the Borough Hall.

After the curtains close, Phil will head straight to the Fisherman’s Arms pub where his hair will be cut at 10.30pm.

He said: "The whole point of me starting to grow my hair initially was it would be a physical representation of just how long it is since the choir has performed.

"My hair was very short then.”

He decided he could also use it as a chance to support several charities at the same time.

Phil added: "I wanted to give my hair somewhere in Great Britain. But, unfortunately, because my hair is grey, they won’t take it here, but they will take it in America.”

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The retired council worker has managed to grow his hair out to 8.5 inches and says it will take some time to get used to his new hairstyle.

He said: "It’s going to be different, I think at the end of the day, it’s only hair.

"If it gives money to Alice House and to Macmillan Cancer Support and also gives some hair to a charity in America, that’s good enough for me.

"I think the shock is probably going to be the cold. I’m not used to having a cold head.

"I think I will be asking for a couple of hats for Christmas.”

To donate to Macmillan visit https://bit.ly/3CuKLFn and to donate to Alice House Hospice go to https://bit.ly/38nQfpt.

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