A governor at St Laurence School in Bradford on Avon waved goodbye to her long locks to help Dorothy House last Thursday.

Sarah Richardson, 48, of Staverton, had eight inches of hair cut off and her head shaved at Staverton Club by her hairdresser niece Emily Cleverley, who works at The Hair Company in Corsham.

The mother-of-two said: “I was a bit nervous but I think my niece was more nervous than I was as she had to do it in front of an audience. She had never done a head shave on a woman before. It feels a bit weird. I keep forgetting I have no hair until people start looking at me. I have to decide if I am going to wear a wig, a hat or nothing at all.

“My hair is not something that is massively important to me and it felt like a reasonable thing to do. I have always been curious to know what I would look like without any. It is a small price to pay.”

Friends, family, supporters and members of the club gathered round to watch the IT worker from Bath University raise money for Dorothy House Hospice. So far, her total is £800.

Mrs Richardson said Dorothy House’s work was brought home to her after a colleague suffered with cancer for a number of years, spending time at the Winsley hospice before their death in the spring.

She added: “They are a local charity who do fabulous work and need a significant amount of funds raised every day.”

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Richardson-head-shave