Medic provides a hairy tale ending to Princess charity

The 26-year-old Cammy had his barnet sheared off at Charlie Miller's designer salon to raise 1,500 for the wig charity Little Princess Trust.

Cammy, a fourth-year Edinburgh University medic, has had to put up with pacing the city's hospital wards with his hair tangled in his stethoscope after he came up with the idea to grow it for the charity while travelling in the United States.

Now his treasured locks, along with those of his wife Naomi, 24, and four friends, will make at least five wigs for young cancer sufferers who have lost their hair during treatment.

Cammy, who lives in Wester Hailes, said: "I came across a guy who was growing his hair for charity while I was travelling in the Midwest.

"I'd had my hair short all my life but I thought it was a great cause. Along with that, a young friend of our family died from leukaemia two years ago and one of his friends shaved his head to support him.

"There was also a lady at my church, who sadly died just two months ago, had a wig during treatment and you couldn't tell she had lost her hair at all, so I could tell it was an important cause.

"I think when everything else is going wrong, especially for youngsters, to have a normal appearance just helps.

"It might seem like a little thing but it gives them some normality.

"The goal was to cut ten inches of hair off, which is how much you need to make a wig.

"There wasn't too much tangling with the stethoscope, as you tie it back, although it did catch in the car door."

Cammy said that by the end his friends and family were giving him money just to shave it off: "Some of my friends were sponsoring me just to get rid of it and my brother kept saying I wouldn't get through my doctors exams with hair like that.

"I managed to convince my wife Naomi to do it as well, and with a little persuasion we got four more people, Kirsty, Lizzy, Pauline and Jackie, from the Holy Trinity church to take part.

"Suddenly there's going to be this rather short hairstyle in the church but it's for a great cause."

Mr Miller, who cut Sir Tom Farmer's hair at the North Pole recently for the Teenage Cancer Trust, said: "It's a great achievement and we were just happy to help out. Cammy didn't mention he had been deliberately growing it for three years, so that's some dedication."

The group have managed to raise enough funds for at least five wigs, which cost 300 each, so far, and are still collecting donations for the Little Princess Trust, which can be made at justgiving.com/hthairloss.