A real-life Rapunzel has had her hair cut for the first time in 23 years – swapping her luscious locks for a shaved head for charity.
Mother-of-three Ruth Clark, whose hair has been with her longer than her eldest son Eddy, did the “unthinkable” and had all 22 inches chopped off to help her scout group build a new hut.
“It was horrible,” she said.
“I was not happy and I was really nervous beforehand, especially with it being done in front of all those people.
“The lady that did it said that she didn’t want to cut such long hair. I was going to get it cut just before I had my first son and once he was born I just never got round to it. He’s 23 now.”
The cub scout leader, of the 1st Brantham Scout & Guide Group, aimed to raise £3,000 to put towards a new headquarters but after the event on October 5.
She has since smashed that total, collecting more than £5,000.
Mrs Clark said: “We desperately need a new scout and guide hut, the one we have at the moment is showing its age and falling apart.
“I think it was built as temporary accommodation in the 1940s and has stayed that way ever since. It has a leaky roof, it’s poorly insulated and doesn’t have enough space.
“It’s part of our 80th anniversary celebrations this year to try and give it a bit of a new lease of life if you like.
She added: “The £3,000 target was only a small part of the money we need in total, which is around £300,000, but together with the other fundraising efforts we’re making I’m hoping it will make some sort of a difference.”
The 51-year-old’s hair will also be donated to the Little Princess Trust who will use it to provide a real wig to a young person who has lost their hair due to cancer.
“My husband likes it because it is the same length as his now but I think I am going to grow it out again,” she said.
“A lot of people have said that I really rock this look.”
Ruth, who is also mother to Ben, 21, and Alice, 18, has set up a Facebook page to help her fundraising efforts.
Make a donation to the cause via Wonderful.orgThrowback to 1995 – What happened in the year Ruth had a haircut?
Ruth last cut her hair in 1995, a busy year for the UK. Here’s a roundup of some key events:
• John Major, Conservative Prime Minister, face a leadership challenge and despite winning, saw his narrow majoring cut by defections and by-election losses.
• Blackburn Rovers won their first Premier League title.
They last won the top division in 1914, 81 years earlier.
• Frank Bruno won the WBC heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision against American Oliver McCall.
He would retire the following year after losing in dramatic fashion to Mike Tyson in Nevada.
• The 17th Bond film, GoldenEye, was released with Pierce Brosnan taking the role of 007 six years after the previous film.
• The original Playstation became the highest selling video game of all time, a year after it’s release.
• Cliff Richard was knighted at Buckingham Palace becoming the first rock star to receive the prestigious award.
• Oasis headlined Glastonbury Festival for the first time wowing crowds with their Brit pop performance.
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