Teachers have had their heads shaved so their hair can be used to insulate their school's eco centre.

Rob Sandercock, nicknamed Jesus because of his flowing curls, was among six staff who had their locks shorn at Dorothy Stringer School, in Loder Road, Brighton.

In a special haircutting lunch break the teachers and pupil Jimmy Barrett, 16, went under the clippers to donate all their hair as insulation in a wall of the school's environmental centre.

Dozens more staff and children had trims at hairdressers to contribute to the effort.

Ecology teacher Mr Sandercock said: "It has been pretty chilly since, but it's going to good use so I can't complain."

Other sections of the wall have been filled with sheeps' wool, hemp and cotton, corks, flax or a shredded material. Each part has been fitted with a thermometer on the inside and outside.

In the next few months, pupils will monitor the temperatures of each section of the wall so they can work out which of the natural materials has been the most effective as insulation.

Mr Sandercock said: "Everyone has really got behind the project. Each day, I find another pupil has dropped off a bag of hair for us to use after getting their hair cut.

"At the moment it's really useful because we need as much as we can get."

Fellow teachers Tony Fogden, James Ferguson, Paul Shellard, Ian Charlesworth and Dan Danahar all had their hair shaved off - but not headteacher Trevor Allen, who said: "I've not got enough to be giving it away."

He said the school had a relaxed policy on hair so there were no issues with the new skinheads wandering the corridors.

The project was the latest in a range of environmental initiatives at the school, which has eco-school status.

Work is under way on building a butterfly habitat in the grounds and an environmental fair will be held this summer.

Spectators paid £1 to watch the shaving and had a bidding war to win the right to cut Mr Sandercock's hair.

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