A four-year-old girl from Hayes was so eager to help children who had lost their hair through cancer treatment that she had her own cut off.

With help from her mum Helen, Ella Coker had an appointment made at Chris' hairdressers, on Kingshill, but it was moved forward a week because “she was so desperate to have it cut and give it to the charity”.

Although she adored having long hair, Ella had 8ins chopped off to send to The Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides real hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland that have sadly lost their own hair through cancer treatment.

Mum Helen Coker said: “She's amazing. She felt sorry for her dad as he is bald, and she said: 'I'd love to give him my hair'.

“Jokingly I said people do actually do that and donate their hair to charity. She was asking how and why it happens so I showed her the Little Princess Trust website.

“She said she wanted to do it so within a few weeks she decided that was going to happen and we got the fundraising pack online. I showed her the videos explaining where the hair goes and the reasons behind it.”

Family and friends watched Ella in support and the hairdresser matched donations from customers when she had the haircut on July 10.

In total, brave Ella has raised £1,060 and still has donations coming in.

Ella with her hair donation

Wendy Tarplee-Morris, case manager at The Little Princess Trust, said: "We are so grateful to Ella and indeed anyone who chooses to donate their hair to The Little Princess Trust.

"The wigs which are made from these kind donations are absolutely beautiful and make a huge difference to the boys and girls who we help.

"It is particularly touching when someone as young as Ella chooses to make such a brave decision to give their hair to another child.

"The number of people donating their hair to the charity is on a sharp increase which is enabling us to help more children than ever. Well done Ella!"

To find out more about the charity and what it does, visit their website.