A HAMPSHIRE woman has raised nearly treble her fundraising target after having her hair shaved off in the middle of Winchester city centre and streaming it live online for people to see.
Victoria Edwards, 48, from Winchester, decided to raise money for the cancer charity Macmillan by braving the shave outside Greens Bar and Kitchen in Jewry Street, where she and her husband previously worked.
But not content with losing her locks in front of Winchester shoppers and diners, Victoria decided to stream the event live on Facebook, and has been so far been viewed more than 1,000 times.
Victoria, a dog walker for Happy Hounds, said: “I was inspired by the courageous way people deal with this terrible disease.
“I’ve lost a lot of family and friends over the years to cancer, and I felt this was a good way of raising some money.
“I’m not missing my hair at all, it’s pretty low maintenance at the moment.
“I would encourage other people to do it; Macmillan is a great cause, it’s just a shame that we have to have charities for this.”
After initially setting a goal of £500, Victoria has so far raised more than £1,400 and the total is still going up, with her husband John, who shaved off the hair live on camera, is getting all his colleagues at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital to dig deep.
Despite being nervous before losing her hair, Victoria said people passing by in Winchester were supportive.
Liz Dear, general manager at Greens, said: “We’re like a big family here. People who were just walking past were stopping to donate. Victoria was so brave to do it.”
Bar manager Ben Evans, who helped organise the event, said: “I think she had a few gins beforehand.”
“I thought about doing it last year, but I bottled it,” Victoria added.
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