THIRTEEN-year-old Laurie-Mai Butler from Bude had her long locks cut for charity on Saturday week, and as well as donating the hair itself she has raised almost £500 and counting.

Laurie-Mai originally set herself the target of raising £100 on her Just Giving page but has surpassed the target by some margin — as of last week it was at £467 — and there is still more to collect.

The hair will be donated to the Little Princess Trust which provides real-hair wigs, free of charge, to boys and girls who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other illnesses.

The charity has been helping children with hair loss for ten years now, and over that time has given away more than 4,000 real hair wigs to children across the UK and Ireland.

Speaking ahead of having her haircut by her aunty Wendy in the Cotswolds, Laurie-Mai said: “I would like to donate my hair to this charity because I have so much of it that I feel as if another child could also benefit from it.

“It will be made into a wig for a child with cancer for Little Princess Trust because no child deserves to feel insecure.”

Anyone still wishing to donate can do so by visiting Laurie-Mai’s Just Giving page on www.justgiving.com/laurie-mai