Men at a homeless hostel in Liverpool were given a confidence boost when a barber gave them free haircut – so much so that he has vowed to return with his clippers.

5* Kurdish Barbers in Garston came to Green Lane supported housing service in Tuebrook over the festive period and offered residents a free trim, which has worked wonders for them and had a positive effect on their mental health.

“It was a great feeling to have a professional haircut and to look like myself again,” remarked Gary Riley who thanked them.

The trim made a positive impact on Ian Harrison who added: “I really needed a haircut and the barbers were very friendly. The haircut has helped me with my image problem and made me feel absolutely brilliant.”

While Paul Kinsella commented: “I felt great after the haircut, they did a great job.”

Dana Koye from 5* Kurdish Barbers on Woolton Road visited residents on his day off to carry out his act of kindness.

“I was only too happy to help and went with my colleague Chia to give the free haircuts,” says Dana.

He added: “I have visited other hostels in the past and offered free haircuts to residents as I know that people don’t have the money to get a haircut especially around Christmas time. I do like to help, I felt so proud to do this and it was good to make the residents at Green Lane happy. I would be more than pleased to return again.”

Green Lane, run by housing association Riverside, provides temporary accommodation for men aged 16 and over in Liverpool who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The service helps them to develop the necessary skills and confidence to move in to independent living and break the cycle of homelessness.

Dave Cowhig, Riverside’s Service Manager at Green Lane, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Dana and Chia who gave up their day off to give our residents free haircuts.

“It’s the little things which we forget that can have a huge positive impact on our residents and others in the same situation to make them feel a million times better about themselves. It was great to see so many happy faces on our residents, it’s had a positive impact and making them feel themselves again.”

Riverside is the third largest provider of homelessness services in the country, and its Care and Support operation works with over 16,000 customers every year.