A LUNCHTIME assistant at a primary school had her first haircut for 20 years to raise money for Children In Need.

Anita Nicholls, who works at Roger Ascham primary school, in Wigton Road, Walthamstow, has allowed her hair to grow since the late 1980s, but today had 60cm of it chopped off for charity.

The 60-year-old, known to colleagues and pupils as “Jackie”, said: “As a young girl I used to have long hair.

“My dad used to tug it playfully and say ‘ding dong’.

“I had a haircut when my twin sons Darren and Jason were seven and I then just let it grow.

“They are now 27 and their girlfriends have been agitating for me to get it trimmed.”