A WARMHEARTED teenager has had his precious locks shaved off for charity.
Ryan Walters, from Buckley, had his shoulder length barnet shaved to raise money for Cancer Research.
The 14-year-old decided to make the daring move after losing a number of people close to him to the disease.
This included his close friend’s grandfather, Phil Cassidy, who died of lung cancer on Christmas Day last year.
Ryan’s mother, Cerys, said that Phil treated her son like a member of the family.
She said: “He wanted to do something in memory of him and so he has been growing his hair for quite a while.
“We also lost a really close friend to cancer and we have lost other friends to cancer over the years.
“He decided he wanted to do it and started raising the money just before Christmas and he has got about £300.”
Ryan had his mop clipped by Penny Aldred, who runs hairdresser’s Hair By Penny.
His parents, sister Jessica, 10, and about 10 of his friends from school went to watch.
Mrs Walters said: “Penny has also got a sponsorship form and has been getting donations from her customers.
“I think it was quite a shock when he first had it done.
“He kept saying his head was cold and he’s asked me to buy him a hat.”
Mrs Walters said she and her husband Andy were very proud of their son.
“He’s a really kind-hearted person. He comes across as the tough teenager but he’s really caring and we’re really proud of him.
“Nobody prompted him; he just said one day, ‘can you watch for the post because I have applied for a sponsorship form’.”
The Argoed High School pupil had long hair for two years and decided he was going to cut it off about six months ago.
His mum added: “His friend spoke about a sponsored run for a joke, but he said he would quite like to do it.
“So there might be more for the future.”