A BRISTOL hairdresser has set up a charity to help children in Uganda after being inspired by the work of one of his clients.

Shaun Nicholas, 49, who owns Maximum FX salon on St Augustine's Place in the city centre, became interested in the plight of children in the African country when he was cutting Karen Edwards' hair.

In May, Mrs Edwards, who used to work as a teaching assistant at Hotwells Primary, went out to Masindi in western Uganda to do some teaching as part of a year out from her career.

When she told her hairdresser of 10 years about her trip he gave her £100 and asked her to spend it on whatever she felt was needed.

While Mrs Edwards, 46, was in Masindi, she discovered that one school's water supply, which was used by 1,000 children, had been cut off and locked up because they could not afford to pay the £113 bill, so she used Mr Nicholas's cash to pay it for them.

Mr Nicholas, who lives on the waterfront, said: "When Karen came back I found everything she had done so interesting that I decided we could do something to help.

"That's when we set up the Children of Masindi Uganda charity and decided to organise an event to raise lots of cash to put towards improving conditions for children there."

Mr Nicholas raised nearly £7,000 with a recent fundraising event at Hotel du Vin in the city centre. Guests paid £1,000 for a table of ten for a meal and entertainment from a fashion show, featuring clothes from shops in Clifton and further afield in Cardiff.

The money raised will be split between Children of Masindi and the Bristol Children's Hospital.

Mrs Edwards, from Sneyd Park, said: "It's great – I feel like I have put a pebble into water and there have been lots of ripples. My husband's company sent lots of computers out there, and then there's Shaun – he has been a big ripple."

The money going to Uganda will be used to improve the health of children.

Mrs Edwards says £600 will pay for a nurse for one year at a school, so that children can be looked after and treated during school time. She says they also hope to get the disabilities of deaf and blind children at one school she saw properly assessed and treated.