Man gets newt hairdo to raise amphibian awareness

A man has cut his hair in honour of the great crested newt to raise awareness of the amphibian's plight.

Tim Strover, from Appleby, told BBC Radio Cumbria he became interested in the creatures after his family dug a pond in their garden over lockdown.

"Newts moved in," he said. "They're fascinating creatures. [I] wanted to do something for the good of the newts."

Great crested newts are a protected species and their population numbers are in decline.

The Wildlife Trust said the newts spent most of their lives on hedgerows and boggy grassland.

Each great crested newt has a unique pattern of black spots on its orange underbelly, it said.

Mr Strover said he was not sure where the idea for the haircut came from.

He said he would keep it for at least a month as part of fundraising efforts for the Freshwater Habitats Trust.

He said the fact his hair was growing out was making the haircut look even odder.

"If it looks strange now, it'll look stranger then," he said.

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