Friend cuts off 12-year dreadlocks to raise money in memory of ‘amazing’ Northampton man

A Northampton man who died suddenly in Spain has been honoured by a friend who has cut off dreadlocks he had been growing for 12 years, in order to raise money.

Justin Carlin from Moulton was in Barcelona with his wife, Jo, and friends, when he suffered a heart attack and sadly died on February 3.

The 49-year-old father-of-four, described as an “amazing” man by Jo, was pleased with himself as he had popped out to buy his wife orange juice from a nearby supermarket ready for the next morning. He then got into bed, but ten minutes later he collapsed.

Jo, who wants to raise awareness of the European emergency number, rang an ambulance, but, despite medics’ quick response, it was tragically too late for Justin, whose heart attack is described as “completely out of the blue”, by Jo.

Following Justin’s death, Jo set up an online fundraiser to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in her husband’s memory. Dave Simons - a friend and colleague at the couple’s Moulton Park business - said he would cut off his dreadlocks, which he has been growing for 12 years, if the fundraiser hit £5,000.

On Friday March 15, Justin - also described as “popular” by his wife - was laid to rest in the presence of around 400 loved ones. The fundraiser hit the £5,000 mark on the same day.

True to his word, Dave’s dreadlocks were cut off on Wednesday (March 20) in front of a tree planted in Justin’s memory in a park opposite his family home. On completion of the hair cut, Dave said he felt “light headed”.

Asked what made him brave the new hair style, Dave simply said: “The love I had for the man”.

“I know he liked to raise money for charity,” Dave continued. “So I just thought it would be a good thing to do and hopefully raise a lot of money. Everyone knows me for my hair so it seemed like the logical thing to do.

“I’m happy and proud that I have done it for him to raise money, but sad that they are gone. I’ve been dedicated to them for a long time, but it’s all for a good cause.”

Speaking shortly after the chop, Jo added: “He looks very different now to what he did an hour ago.

“What he has done is absolutely amazing. It’s been emotional. I’m so proud that he did this in Justin’s name.”

Jo says she will keep the fundraising page running to see how much money they can raise in Justin’s memory.

The 48-year-old also wants more people to learn overseas emergency numbers, as she has asked a lot of people since Justin’s death if they know what number to call in an emergency while abroad and has been shocked by how few do.

She said: “Thankfully I knew the number and the ambulance got there very quickly but there are so many people who don’t know it.”

Asked what message she wants to get across, Jo said: “Just make sure they know the number. It’s an easy number to remember for when people do go away. I hope they will never need to phone it, but if they do it could save minutes not having to hunt around for the number.”

Donate to the BHF fundraiser in Justin’s name on the family’s JustGiving page here.

Call 112 in case of emergency in any European Union country.