Brave police faced a nerve-racking ordeal - when they had their heads shaved for charity.

PC Suzanne Harlow was the only female police officer at Burgess Hill brave enough to take up the challenge.

Now the proud owner of a fetching buzz cut, she contributed to the £1,500 raised for the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust.

She said: "It is not too bad because the weather is warmer but I was warned it would be cold.

"I have had a fair bit of ribbing but it is nothing I can't handle.

"I shall definitely grow it back slightly but now it takes me two minutes to do my hair in the morning, so it is a lot easier.

"I am thinking about dying it blonde, not at the moment, but when it grows back a bit as it is quite grey now.

"I did say to the organisers I wish I had heard about the abseiling they were doing to raise money first!"

PC Harlow said three police officers had their heads shaved by Poppyheads of Hurstpierpoint.

Two other officers were unable to make the clipping but are planning on having it done in the next couple of weeks.

She said: "I have got a couple of wigs to wear if I fancy it long.

"I met a woman who had had chemotherapy and she said I could borrow hers.

"I looked at myself in the mirror last night and I thought 'this is what I would look like if I had chemotherapy' - it makes it more real."

The idea for Crop a Copper came from Melbourne, Australia, in 1994.

A policeman was visiting a children's hospital where he met several children suffering from leukaemia who had lost their hair through chemotherapy treatments.

The officer wanted the children to know they need not worry about their appearance and that police officers admired their courage, so he persuaded colleagues to have their heads shaved with him in a fund-raising event.

The idea took off in Australia and America and the Anthony Nolan Trust adapted it for the UK.

Jean Rolfe, fund-raising manager with the trust, said: "The response from the police is fantastic, with many officers, both male and female, taking part across Sussex."