A NEW bobble hat will be at the top of one Helensburgh woman’s Christmas list this year as she prepares to have her 20-inch locks chopped for charity.

Clare Newport, who works at Helensburgh Eyecare in Sinclair Street, will “brave the shave” next Saturday at local studio Gifted and Co to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The 37-year-old lost her “wonderfully kind and inspiring” mum Bernie to the illness last April, and she said donating her blonde barnet to The Little Princess Trust will be the perfect tribute.

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She told the Advertiser: “Shaving my hair is a big move but it’s only fitting to do something so bold to celebrate such an inspiring woman.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a few years but it was around the beginning of lockdown when I thought ‘let’s just do it, this is already such a crazy year’.

“My mum was all about family, she wanted to do the best she could for her family and friends and people loved her.

“We had a really close relationship which helped me deal with her passing a bit better. I came to realise that we had made the best of our relationship.

“I think she would’ve hated this! I think she would say ‘you are one crazy girl but I’m proud of you’.”

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More than £700 has been donated to Clare’s online fund-raising page so far - and while daunted at the prospect of going bald for winter, she said she is thrilled to be supporting such a worthy cause.

“My hair is 20 inches long and I last had a trim in September,” she added, “but that was just to tidy up the ends.

“I’ve not had a big chop for years and certainly not to this extent.

“We are like every other family - we have known people who have, through time, been supported by charities like Macmillan and they do such good work.

“I’m blown away by how generous everyone has been.

“It’s been such a tough year for people not just mentally but financially, too, and they are still willing to spare a bit of money for this.

“It’s a beautiful thing.”

To support Clare's fund-raiser visit bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/clare-newport.

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