A WOMAN has shaved off her hair to raise awareness of the illness which has affected both of her parents.

Kirsty Tait, 21, of Franklin Gardens, decided to shave off her shoulder-length hair, after her mother was recently diagnosed with lymphoma.

The university student, whose father also had prostate cancer, wanted to raise awareness of the illness as well as sponsorship for Cancer Research.

She decided to post on Facebook her idea - after which there was no going back - with the theory that if all her friends on the social networking site donated �1, she would raise �1,000.

“My mum doesn’t like not having any hair, so I said that I’d shave all of mine off,” said Kirsty.

“It was shoulder-length before, so will take a couple of years to grow back, but I’m already getting used to it.”

Kirsty braved the razor at The Sailor Pub in Walsworth on Friday. The feat attracted 250 people, with some having to stand outside because there wasn’t enough room in the pub.

The cut was done by hairdresser Jade Mitchell, who works for Eden Hair in Fairfield.

“My friends have been really supportive. There was one person who criticised it, but he didn’t realise why I’d done it. When he found out, he felt really guilty and gave me a tenner,” said Kirsty.

“Everyone’s said that it’s been a brave thing to do, and inspirational. I did it to raise awareness of cancer.

“Me and my friend were looking at things on the internet to do next year to raise money, although we’ve nothing planned currently.”

Kirsty believes she has raised more than �3,000 for the charity - three times more than what she estimated.

To sponsor Kirsty, visit www.justgiving.com/kirstytait121219