A STORE member from a Ludlow opticians had her long hair chopped off in front of customers to raise money for the mother and baby unit at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham.

Optical assistant Julia Marriott, from Specsavers on the Bull Ring, had almost a foot of hair cut off as part of the store’s fundraising efforts for the neonatal unit.

The team has chosen to support the unit this year because their store supervisor and new mum, Rebecca Lewis had spent time there after her twin babies were born prematurely. In total they have raised £1,734.

Ms Marriott is no stranger to getting her hair cut for charity; three years ago she took part in her first charity chop when she had 16 inches lopped off in aid of that year’s fundraising efforts.

“My hair grows very quickly and had already grown halfway down my back since then so I could go for the big chop again,” says Ms Marriott, who is also in-store trainer.

“Several people had a go at cutting different sections and my mum chopped a bit too much off so it’s shorter than I originally thought it would be.

“I decided to go for the chop again to support the neonatal unit because the work they do is just phenomenal, not just for Rebecca and her little family, but for so many parents.”

As well as raising money for the unit, Julia’s hair was donated to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real hair wigs to children who have lost their hair through cancer and other illnesses.

“I’m so pleased to have been able to have helped two such amazing charities,” Ms Marriott adds.

“We wanted to do something to show our support for the neonatal unit as Rebecca is such an integral part of our team,” says Specsavers Ludlow store director Nicola Aubrey.

“It is thanks to the generosity of our customers and the hard work of our team that we have managed to raise such a fantastic amount for the unit.”

For more information or to book an appointment, call 01584 871210 or visit https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/ludlow