HAMPSHIRE employees braved the shave to support good causes in the run up to Christmas.

Five staff members at Daisy Wholesale in Chandler's Ford shaved their heads to raise awareness of cancer and alopecia.

They said they wanted to try to make a difference after many of their colleagues had lost friends or family members due to cancer or know people who have been affected by alopecia.

Marc Edwards, 53, IT manager, at Daisy Wholesale, suggested to raise money for Alopecia UK.

He said: "Alopecia is something that is not very supported and is devastating for people and their confidence. I had a friend who woke up and all his body hair had dropped over night. It was quite shocking."

Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that results in unpredictable, patchy hair loss.

"It is not very publicised as a condition and very little is known about it.This is what inspired me to do something about it,"Mr Edwards added.

He said another team member, his collegaue Emma Wiggins, suggested to support Cancer Research after she lost her best friend due to blood cancer in June this year.

Hairdressers from Helen Hair saloon visited the team in their offices on Wednesday to do the honours.

Ryan Stillwell,26, a privision advisor at the firm, also had his head shaved.

He said: "The more we do the better. It has brought the office together and we managed to raise a fair amount of money. It was a good effort and I'm happy with what we were able to do."

The team raised more than £900.

Terry O’Brien, MD at Daisy Wholesale, said: “It’s fantastic to see our team come together to support such important, deserving causes. I’m proud to be part of such a passionate team that aims to succeed in everything they do, so we hope this, too, is a success and we can raise as much money as possible.”