A MAYOR’s mum was overjoyed when her long-haired son finally ‘braved the shave’ in front of a town centre crowd.

Ross-on-Wye mayor Cllr John Winder has had long locks for most of the last 32 years, and admitted that mum Ros Winder “hates it” before undergoing the charity chop in front of the Market House.

“She couldn’t wait to get her hands on the scissors and see me lose my hair,” said John afterwards.

“Mum’s been trying for 30 years to get me to cut my hair and she’s over the moon now, saying it looks much better.

“It definitely feels a bit cooler in the summer heat, but it looks a bit cooler as well.

“I’m probably a bit too old for long hair these days, so who knows, I might even keep it short now!”

Ross-on-Wye town crier Ray Churchill rang the bell to announce the head shave, with Cllr Winder looking like he might be about to lose his head as well.

But when Josie Davies of Hair Perfection got to work with the scissors after his mum started the trim, it was only the locks that were lopped, with the event making £800 for the town’s Enviroability charity.

“It feels a little bit odd without my hair after all these years,” admitted the 49-year-old mayor. “I find myself reaching for my hair and finding it’s not there, like in the shower or to tuck into my collar.

“People have been saying it makes me look more handsome, though, so who knows, it could stay.

“I’ve had long hair since I was 17, except for a haircut on a whim 20 years ago, so it’s a bit of a change, but all in a good cause.

“Enviroability do really good work helping disadvantaged people back into work, such as collecting and recycling cardboard, renovating old bikes, house clearances and manning the charity shop.

“I wanted to do something for a local charity and we raised another £200 on the day itself in the mayor’s bucket, which is really great.

“We had a fantastic crowd there to see me brave the shave, including mum and dad, Ros and Les, and it all went off really well.”

Pictures of the event can be seen on Cllr Winder’s Facebook page, and he also posted: “Particular thanks to Caz Holbrook Photography for the fabulous photos, Josie from Hair Perfection for doing the actual haircut and shave, Ross on Wye’s Town Crier for such a fantastic Town Cry, everyone from EnviroAbility (my chosen charity) for helping to staff the market stall and for supplying stuff to sell, my mum and dad for coming to see it all happen and my wife (and mayoress) Camilla for being so supportive.

“And of course, everyone who came along and supported me and donated either through the GoFundMe link or in cash on the day!”

And after raising a glass to Saturday’s charity trim, Cllr Winder, a brewer by trade, is now planning his next fundraiser, a special mayoral beer!

To support the mayor’s haircut fundraiser, go to www.gofundme.com/f/get-the-mayor-a-haircut?