Wickes teenagers have their legs waxed for charity (From This is Hampshire)

Tom Batten, Andy Smerdon and Dan Russell have thier legs waxed

12:00pm Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter

THREE brave teenagers were watched by amused shoppers as they had their hair waxed for charity.

Tom Batten, Andy Smerdon and Dan Russell, who all work for Wickes, in Basingstoke, volunteered to put their bodies through pain to raise funds for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

First to brave the hot wax was 19-year-old forklift truck driver Tom, who had the sticky substance poured over his chest hair before it was ripped off by beauty therapist Lucy Newland, much to the entertainment of the other staff and customers.

Andy, 17, a shop assistant, and Dan, 19, also a forklift truck driver, followed in the hot-seat – so to speak – and had their leg hair removed with wax.

Dan, from Brighton Hill, who came up with the fundraising idea, said: “The other two didn’t want to do it at first but in the end I managed to convince them. It was painful. The front of the leg wasn’t too bad but the back was painful. There were a fair few people watching.”

But the trio’s pain was the charity’s gain and they managed to pull in £730 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, which is Wickes chosen charity to support.

Shoppers, amused by the public display of humiliation, dropped their spare change into collection buckets while others sponsored the three workers, helping to bring the total up to an impressive amount. A slightly sore Dan said: “It was worth it.”