A sponsored beard grow by a member of the Port of Falmouth Sailing Association (PoFSA) has raised £1,550 for Falmouth Lifeboat Station.

Neil Andrew, Chair of PoFSA's Race Management Group, raised the funds by taking on a challenge to grow his beard for a full year, until the anniversary of the first lockdown.

As restrictions remained in place beyond March, he ended up going a total of 427 days without shaving.

Neil Andrew, PoFSA said:

"I have always had tidy hair and generally been clean shaven but like so many others I let my hair grow out while barbershops were closed.

"By Falmouth Sailing Week in August, I had quite an impressive beard. Even people who have known me for years didn't recognise me! I thought it was a perfect opportunity to keep going for a full year, to raise money for a great cause.

"PoFSA is enormously grateful to the amazing volunteers at Falmouth Lifeboat Station. I'm delighted to be able to give something back for the support they've shown local sailing clubs throughout the pandemic."

He added: "Many thanks to the wonderful team at Cutting Edge salon in Falmouth too, who were able to fit me in after hours for a much-needed haircut."

Dave Nicoll, RNLI Fundraising & Partnership Lead, said:

"We're hugely thankful to Neil for his generous donation, on behalf of PoFSA, which will make a huge difference.

"Falmouth is home to one of the busiest lifeboats stations in the South West and it's thanks to the kindness of others in our community that the crew is able to continue saving lives at sea."

Click here to see more news and information from Falmouth RNLI.

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