A Shropshire hair and beauty salon is getting the Shropshire Star’s Flying Doctor appeal off to a flying start with a special week of fundraising.

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And two members of staff have let it go to their head – by having their hair dyed red, the colour of the air ambulance.

Our appeal aims to raise £70,000 to equip and fund a Flying Doctor for the Shropshire-based air ambulance, which will take the lifesaving helicopter’s on-the-spot medical capabilities to new heights.

Staff at the Rizzo Hair and Beauty Spa, which has salons in Mardol, Shrewsbury, and Church Street, Wellington, are wearing specially printed T-shirts proclaiming “Rizzo’s Flying Doctor Week” and are selling raffle tickets with prizes of luxury beauty treatments and pampering.”We do do a lot of charity work, and have done a lot for breast cancer in the past, and this air ambulance appeal is quite close to our hearts,” said Steve Barrett, who is partner in the business with his wife Deborah.

“It’s something that benefits everybody in Shropshire.”

And Steve and Deborah have personal experience of the difference a casualty helicopter and on-the-spot medical expertise can make. “A few years ago we were taking a break in Wales and doing some water sports. We were towing a good friend, Joanne Law of Broseley, on a wake board and she broke her leg badly.

“We were on a remote beach near Abersoch, inaccessible by road.

“We had to call the local air ambulance and as it happened there were, by pure fluke, three doctors from Bangor Hospital on the beach at the time.

“That brought home how having a doctor as soon as possible to an incident like that is so important.”

The two staff who have had their hair dyed red, who are both assistants at the Shrewsbury branch, are Josh Price from Oswestry and Nigel Cramb from Newport. Steve said: “With it being a doctor and health-related appeal, we thought red was the colour to go for. We are looking for sponsorship for their efforts.”

Top prize in the raffle will be a luxury cut and blow dry, with Redken hair treatment and full body massage, second prize is an Elemis body massage, and third prize is a luxury blow dry and Redken gift bag.

Picture: Nigel Cramb and Jade Buffham, of Rizzo’s, are seen with  Air Ambulance fundraiser Paul Weir.

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By Toby Neal