A HAIR salon owner is marching his team out on a sponsored walk to raise money for a charity bringing clean drinking water to families in developing countries.

Steve Burgin, from Crewe, says the pandemic has amplified the message of "being kind" to each other, so he launched a fundraiser for Charity: Water

He and his staff at Steven Burgin on Hospital Street in Nantwich are donning their walking boots to trek the 10 miles of the Sandstone Trail as part of the charity's month-long campaign to fund safe water for 20,000 people in rural Mali in West Africa.

Steve said: "It's horrific to think people in this day and age are drinking dirty water that can make them ill. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is to be kind to one another and help those less fortunate.

"Water is a precious resource which we take for granted every time we turn on a tap. We are careful in the salon with every drop we use but the hairdressing industry is still a big user of water and this cause appealed to us as a way of giving back and raising awareness of its work in some of the harshest places to live."

Steve and team will head out for their walk in November, starting from the Pheasant Inn in Tattenhall, which is situated midway along the 34-mile trail. Collections are ongoing in the salon throughout September and October and progress will be posted on Facebook.

The business owner added: "Unfortunately eco-friendliness has taken something of the back seat during the pandemic with more people buying food in plastic and irresponsibly disposing of face masks.

"We're all living through the crisis together and anything we can do to help a good cause and put green matters back in the forefront of people's minds has to be worth it."

Last year the salon fundraised for Help for Heroes and The Little Princess Trust which provides free wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatments.

For more on the salon go here.