Craig’s Barber Shop owner invited to Buckingham Palace

Craig Henderson, aged 37, received a prestigious ‘Community Champion Award’ last year for his work cutting the hair of children with autism and neurodivergence. He described receiving the award as a ‘surreal’ experience.

Now, the Deane resident is being nominated on behalf of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership to attend a Buckingham Palace garden party in May this year.

Craig Henderson won a Community Champion Award at last year's Greater Manchester Health and Care Champion Awards (Image: Elizabeth Barker Photography)

For Craig, cutting the hair of neurodivergent children is a cause close to his heart.

The barber’s 14-year-old son, Ashton, lives with sensory processing disorder, or SPD – a neurological condition which can affect the way processes information from the senses.

Speaking to The Bolton News, Craig said: “He’s helped teach me quite a few skills regarding working with children with additional needs. It’s giving them the opportunity to get a haircut in a non-judgmental, safe place, really.

“But giving them an extra 15 minutes can make a massive difference. It’s giving them that opportunity to fit into a normal setting, really."

Craig Henderson cutting children's hair (Image: Craig Henderson)

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Craig said his fiancée, Sarah Timmins, didn’t believe him when he asked if she’d like to go with him to the party.

He said: “My head fell off yesterday, I didn’t know what to say to that. You don’t expect a small little barber in Bolton to go in for something like that, so, we’ll just see how it goes.

“The missus thought I was telling her a lie. I said ‘we’ve been invited to Buckingham Palace’ and she went ‘shut up, you’re telling lies’.

“I sent her a screenshot of the email and she said ‘oh my bloody God’.”

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Despite being grateful for the recognition, Craig isn’t resting on his laurels.

He is now planning to launch a training programme in order to educate other barbers and hairdressers to cut the hair of neurodivergent children and adults.

He said: “I’ll be delivering that via Teams and hopefully one day in person, and we’ll see where it goes.

“It’s in its infancy at the moment, but people are more than welcome to message me through social media or email and I can give them more information about it.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk or click to send me a message on WhatsApp or on Signal on 07517566383.