Free haircuts for the unemployed and their children is one Lugo hairdresser's way of helping those out of work in the current recession.

Hairdresser, Belén Bermúdez, is offering free haircuts on Wednesdays, a day she describes as being 'one of the slower ones', for people 'experiencing financial difficulties' at the moment.

The initiative means that every Wednesday, five people can have a free haircut.  In this way she can help those feeling the pinch whilst still being able to attend to her regular customers.

The offer runs until June and potential customers need to make an appointment, showing prrof of their employment situation at the time of booking.

She promises 'total confidentiality', recognising that people are often embarrassed about being out of work.
 
Initially, the idea was to help those out of work, but she has extended the offer to include their children too, having got to know of a number of cases where 'the whole family is having a really hard time'.

She makes no charge whatsoever for a simple haircut, and is offering a 30% reduction on normal prices if the customer wants their hair highlighted or dyed.

'Everyone's keeping a closer eye on their finances now' she said, explaining how the recession had affected her business too.  'People are very cautious about spening money' she added, 'so every little bit we can do to help is welcome'.

The idea came about after Belén offered to cut an out-of-work friend's hair 'so that she would look good for her job interviews'.
 
Belén assured the press that her regular customers were all in favour of the idea, and that so far, only one person had taken advantage of the offer which started last week.

In the face of criticism from other businesses in the area, Belén is defending her decision and what's more, encouraging others to help out in a similar way.  'There is no copyright on the idea,' she said, 'anyone who wants to copy it, is welcome to'.