A hospital nurse had a hair-raising appointment with a rugby player to raise cash for new hospital equipment.

Julie Lund, an endoscopy nurse at Airedale Hospital, Steeton, decided to take the drastic step to boost her favourite charity.

She said: “I wanted to do something unusual to try and raise as much money as possible for our endoscopy appeal. My aim was to top the £300 mark and we’ve already raised over £400."

Keighley Cougars player Brendon Rawlins visited the endoscopy ward to help her tackle her challenging close shave.

Building work is well underway to create a £2.4m endoscopy unit which is expected to open at the end of July and will allow more procedures.

A fundraising appeal has started to raise more than £60,000 for new endoscopy equipment.