A nine-year-old girl from Bere Alston has braved the chop and generously donated 16 inches of her hair to a children’s wig-making charity.

Tilly McPhail’s locks had reached a stunning 28 inches but earlier this month she decided it was time for a complete restyle to donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which makes wigs, free of charge, for children suffering with hair loss.

“It’s something she’s always wanted to do,” said dad, Tom. “She felt it was really important to do to help someone’s who’s really poorly and make them feel confident again.”

It was definitely a dramatic change for Tilly who had been growing her hair throughout her life with only the occasional trim at home. Photographs taken before and afterwards show the scale of the change. Her blonde hair previously reached well below her waist, while she is pictured after the cut holding the long sections beside her new shoulder-length style.

“She was worried at first but she’s really happy with how it’s turned out,” added Tom.

The 16 inches of donated hair will be sent to specialist wigmakers, where it will be combined with hair from other donors to create a custom-made wig.

The Little Princess Trust was established in 2006 and has since supplied more than 12,000 real-hair wigs free of charge to children and young people across the UK and Ireland who have lost their hair through cancer treatment or other medical conditions.

As well as providing wigs, the charity funds research into childhood cancers in an effort to find kinder and more effective treatments. Since it was founded, it has invested around £20 million in research projects.

For more information about the Little Princess Trust or to donate hair, visit: https://www.littleprincesses.org.uk/.