A POPULAR hair salon in York is holding a charity ball to mark its tenth birthday - and to raise money in memory of a York pilot.

Holly Barritt, 35, and Kelly Lund, 34, co-owners of Urban Image in Holgate Road, are celebrating ten years of business by holding a charity fundraising ball at York Racecourse on May 16.

The ball will be in aid of St Leonard’s Hospice and the Andrew Cantle Memorial Fund for the RNLI.

Andrew, 27, who lived in Rawcliffe with his partner, Beth Webster, Holly's sister, died in 2011 when the commuter plane he was co-piloting crashed in thick fog at Cork Airport.

He had been a volunteer for the RNLI since he was 15 and a fund set up in his memory has raised in excess of £16,500 so far.

Holly said: "Andrew was a massive part of our lives and what happened to him was tragic.

"The RNLI meant a lot to him and obviously is completely voluntarily funded so the more we can do, the better."

Andrew first became involved with Sunderland RNLI Lifeboat station in 2000 when he decided to serve with the charity as part of the Community Service element of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

After completing the award in 2001 he decided to stay with the charity and serve as volunteer lifeboat crew where he served until 2008, when he moved to York to take up his career as an airline pilot. During this time he took part in 65 emergency missions which resulted in the rescue of 66 people.

Andrew and Beth met while studying aviation technology. Beth, 29, is currently learning to be a commercial pilot in the US.

Holly said: "She gets on with everything day by day. She wanted to carry on flying because of Andy."

The salon has also chosen to support St Leonard's Hospice as it has supported so many people and families in York.

The ball will include a raffle and casino tables and a live cover band.

Tickets to the night cost £25 and can be bought from the Urban Image salon in Holgate Road.