Railwayman donates long locks to charity after post-pandemic haircut

Wednesday 19 Jul 2023

Railwayman donates long locks to charity after post-pandemic haircut

Region & Route:: North West & Central; | North West & Central: Central

A railway manager who’s gone without a haircut since before the first coronavirus lockdown has had his luscious locks cut off so he could donate them to make wigs for children with cancer.

Stuart Hughes, a senior programme manager for Network Rail in Birmingham, took his seat in the salon on Friday 14 July 2023 – the first time in over 41 months.

The mammoth mop chop by Elly and the team at Cloud Nine Hair Design in Shirley, saw his hair gathered into ten ponytails, 18 inches in length.

Stuart had the honour of snipping off the first one, with just nine more snips before the long locks were gone.

These are now being donated to Hereford-based charity The Little Princess Trust*, which provides real hair wigs free of charge to children and young people who have lost their own through cancer treatment or conditions like alopecia.

Making each wig costs around £550 so Stuart initially set out to raise that too, but far exceeded that amount before any scissors were snipped.

Stuart Hughes, Network Rail senior programme manager, said: “I have never had long hair before and during the first lockdown I just thought I would let it grow out a bit longer than usual. As time went by a number of people said that if I ever get my hair cut I should donate it, so I looked in to it.

“The biggest demand is for hair over 12 inches long so I was delighted to have 10 ponytails around 18 inches long cut off last Friday! Whilst I may miss the long hair a little bit, I am really pleased that it will go to someone for whom it will make a really positive difference.”

Wendy Tarplee-Morris, founder of The Little Princess Trust, said: “We are so pleased Stuart decided to donate his incredible lockdown locks to us.

“His lengthy hair and phenomenal fundraising will be a huge help to us as we continue to provide more and more wigs to children and young people with hair loss.”

Any additional money raised will be given to the charity to help make more wigs for children in need.

If you’d like to donate further to Stuart’s fundraiser, you can by visiting: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stuart-hughes-1689003947170?utm_term=9AJrDy3xa

Notes to Editors

*The Little Princess Trust

The Little Princess Trust was set up in 2005 in memory of Hannah Tarplee.

A year earlier, she had been diagnosed with a Wilms Tumour and the loss of her hair was especially traumatic.

Her parents felt the most fitting tribute to the five-year-old would be a charity dedicated to providing wigs to children who had lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other conditions.

The Little Princess Trust was born and the charity has now provided wigs to more than 15,000 young people.

The charity is also now one of the largest funders of childhood cancer research in the UK.

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