Queen's funeral: Portsmouth barbershop which opened on Sunday just for the armed forces says idea went down well

The Barbers, in Old Portsmouth, opened its doors on Sunday for the HM forces that had been practising for their roles in the Queen’s funeral on Monday.

They were offering haircuts for all of the forces based in the area to make sure they were as smart as possible for the funeral and the turnout on Sunday did not disappoint.

Ashley Caisley, one of the team members, said that it was a ‘really nice’ thing to do and it was an overwhelming experience in the build-up to the funeral.

The team does not usually open on Sunday, but they opened to pay tribute to Her Majesty as well as show their support for the forces in and around Portsmouth.

Ashley said: ‘It was pretty busy. There was a couple of people waiting outside in the morning and the people that had come down after hearing about what we were doing.

‘There was a guy in the morning who was actually in the parade and he said he was nervous to go up there but he had been training for it all week.

‘It was nice to talk to him and we had a few people pop their heads in and say what a nice thing it was that we were doing.’

Ashley said that although the decision to open was short notice, it was a success and that it felt good as a team to help prepare the forces for an important moment.