A BARBER shop in Bournemouth is offering free haircuts and shaves to homeless people at the end of the month.

Luke James, owner of Fade Barbers in Lansdowne, has long been concerned about the plight of the town's homeless and wanted to use his store to give something back.

From 11am-4pm on Sunday, September 30, homeless people will be invited to have a free haircut.

Twisters next door will be providing free food and drink on the day, while Lush in Bournemouth has offered to donate beneficial products.

"On my regular visits to the store I was shocked to see the volume of homeless people around, and then walking into Bournemouth town itself, unfortunately it gets no better," Luke said.

"I felt it would be a great idea to utilise the shop and try to give something back to our local people."

He said the aim of the day was to enable homeless people to "feel more confident to approach the appropriate people to get back on their feet."

Taking the time to speak with a lot of the regular homeless people that I see daily outside the store you cannot help but sympathise with how they ended up in that situation. Even if we help change one persons life it would be a great success," he added.

The Big Issue has also offered its support for the event and will be encouraging employees who might benefit from it to attend.

Luke started Fade in December 2016, opening his first barber shop in Withermoor Road, Winton, with the view of providing an old-fashioned barbering service but with modern styles. He opened his Lansdowne store around three months ago.