A WOMAN had a close shave in her attempts to raise £2,000 in memory of her lifelong friend who lost her life to cancer.

Anita Frazer decided to have hair auburn hair cut off and shaved to raise vital funds for the Butterwick Hospice where her friend, Julie Summer, was treated in her final months last year.

The 46-year-old, of Hartburn, near Stockton, was planning to do it at her school reunion at Stockton’s Ian Ramsey school on Saturday, but her friends persuaded her to do it at today’s (Monday, May 5) Butterwick Hospice fair on Norton Green.

Before she went under the scissors and clippers of her hairdresser friend Jacqui Elliott, Mrs Frazer was looking and feeling apprehensive.

She said: “After the care Julie received at Butterwick I decided that I would raise money for the charity and set myself the target of £2,000.

"When I decided to shave my hair off to achieve the target I was going to do it at the school reunion, but my friends thought I would be able to raise more money if I did it at the fair.”

The self-employed project manager looked nervous as she sat on a seat and had her hair plaited in preparation of having it cut off and donated to The Little Princess Trust, which uses real hair to make wigs for children who suffer hair loss due to illness.

Volunteers paid £5 each for the privilege of cutting off each of her braids before her friend took the clippers to her hair and finished of the drastic hair cut.

Speaking after having her hair shorn, she said: “I knew Julie since I was 11-years-old and she was a great friend of mine and this is a fitting tribute to her. I’m so pleased that people persuaded me to get it shaved here today as it meant that I was able to raise even more money.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Anita’s head shave should visit www.justgiving.com/Anita-Frazer or if you want further information about the services provided by Butterwick Hospice visit www.butterwick.org.uk