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 There can’t be many teenagers who get rounds of applause for having his hair cut off. But uniformed services student Joe Esgate, 19, endured an emotional time at the Cambridge campus of the College of West Anglia, as he saw his life change in front of his eyes and helped a national cause at the same time. Fellow students and friends gave money to sponsor Joe to have all his locks lopped off. And that meant saying goodbye to his hair which had taken no less than eight years to grow, reaching 60cm in length before the shears got to work at the campus at Milton. His hair will be sent to the Little Prince Trust where it will be used to create wigs and hair-pieces from real hair for youngsters who suffer hair loss due to cancer treatment; Earlier this year singer Jessie J donated her famous black locks to the charity, after having her head shaved live on Comic Relief's Red Nose Day. Joe Hair 7.Joe Hair 1 Joe hopes to have raised around £300 for the Trust from losing his hair. It took about an hour to remove Joe’s hair and having started by feeling nervous, he ended with cheers and emotion. He said: “It is hard not to feel emotional. It is eight years of my life.” Fellow uniformed services students, friends from Cambridge and his brother, Sam, were among those who had sponsored him, with those paying the most getting the honour of chopping off hair – with electric cutters in the dog grooming section completing his new cropped look. His lecturer Rob Cooke and a number of fellow students had all chipped in to boost the appeal. Before work began his hair was divided into sections to make it easier to organise the cutting. First with the shears had been his friend Daniel Salomon, 18. Joe’s new look will have to stay with him. He completes his course at Milton in the summer and hopes to hear in the New Year that he has won a place at Coventry University, studying disaster management and emergency planning. And he explained: “Because I hope to apply to become a retained firefighter I will sadly have to keep my hair on the short side.” At the College of West Anglia he is in the second year of a BTEC Extended Diploma in Uniformed Public Service, Level 3. Joe, who will have to get used to feeling the cold, said: “This course has given me a great opportunity to meet some great people, both staff and the students at the college. “It has increased my overall fitness levels and I have gained qualifications which are vital for progressing to university and beyond. “If you are looking for a career in any public or uniformed service, you are in the right place. Stick with it, make it through the course and gain a great grade out of it, it will make your life much easier in the future.” Now he can look back on his life with locks. “It got to 60 cm long. I had been growing it for eight years, ever since I fancied doing something different and interesting with my hair. Having my hair cut off was inevitable because of the career choices I will be taking, so it is something I have had in the back of my mind. “But some of my class mates suggested I should try to raise some money to donate to charity when I do. When else is there a better time to have a charity event but just before Christmas. “I had very mixed feelings, nervous and excited!” And he had to face the challenge of telling his family. “One of the hardest choices I had to make, apart from making the commitment to having my hair cut off was working out how I was going to tell my family and friends especially my mother; but everyone has been really supportive.” And Thursday ended in a different way as Joe had to cycle home, without his normal head of hair to keep him warm. PICTURES Hair I go...Joe( right) sports eight years' worth of hair, growing to 60cms, beefore bravely having it all cropped off for a charity which helps young cancer sufferers.

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