Foodbank offers clients free haircuts

Volunteer hairdressers have given their services for the project

A foodbank said it was offering free haircuts after visitors said they had to eat rather than get a trim.

Sue Hyland, from Hart Foodbank at Fleet Baptist Church in Hampshire, said they started the free barbering and hairdressing service on Monday and helped six people on the first day.

Two hairdressers from Marianne's Hair Salon in Basingstoke, including owner Marianne Rolfe, volunteered their services for the project.

Ms Hyland described it as "really emotional", adding: "Someone said they hadn't had their hair cut for over two years."

She continued: "One of the clients said just cut it all off, I can't afford to have it done again, so that didn't happen, it was styled and they're going to come back."

Ms Hyland believes it is about giving the people who need the support from the foodbank a sense of "self-esteem and self-respect".

"Something so simple, that most people might take for granted as having a trim, can actually be really positive for people and make them feel really good about themselves," she said.

The foodbank offers 30-minute appointments and can accommodate up to eight clients per session.

The sessions will rotate monthly across Fleet, Hook and Darby Green.