A TEESDALE archaeologist had her waist-length locks lopped off for charity.
Dr Hannah Russ has been raising funds, alongside colleagues at the Barnard Castle-based archaeology firm Northern Archaeological Associates (NAA), in aid of Brain Tumour Research in memory of their former director Dr Richard Fraser.
Deciding to have her hair chopped was a big decision for Dr Russ, who admitted the last time she had hair above her shoulders was 18 years ago.
“This will be the shortest my hair has been since I was a teenager,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d be nervous, but I am. I suppose my neck is going to be a bit cooler now though.”
As well as receiving donations through an online fundraising site she and her colleague set up, Dr Russ is also giving her hair to the Little Princess Trust.
The trust uses the donated hair to make wigs for young people who have lost their own due through treatment or alopecia.
Sue Birdsall, owner of the Hair Studio and a member of the Teesdale branch of Cancer Research, was on hand to carry out the chop. Mrs Birdsall is an old hand at such matters, having done four previous cuts.
A total length of 70cm of Dr Russ’ hair was bobbled up and after it is washed and dried will be sent off the Little Princess Trust.
“Initially we hoped to raise £500, but when we surpassed that, we just kept setting the bar higher,” said Dr Russ, who added having exceeded the £6,000 total they are now aiming to raise £10,000.
She and her colleagues have already begun organising more charity events, including an archaeological conference based on the works of Dr Fraser, as well as sponsored walk next year.
A bursary for the archaeological course at Newcastle University is also being set up in Dr Fraser’s name.
Anyone who would like to contribute can visit justgiving.com/fundraising/northern-archaeological-associates4.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
