A 10-year-old Buchan girl has had her first haircut so she could donate 17 inches of her locks to sick children.
Eilidh Grant, from Peterhead, was so moved by a documentary about young people who have lost their hair as a result of cancer and alopecia she decided to do something to help.
The Grant family got in touch with the Little Princess Trust, a charity which works with specialist hairdressers to create real-hair wigs for sick children.
Last night Eilidh’s mum Aileen said: “She was watching television – a programme about Great Ormond Street Hospital I think – and asked why the kids had shaved their hair off.
“I explained that’s not what happens and when she found out she was quite upset.
“She came back to me and said she’d been inspired by the actress Carrie Hope Fletcher who plays Eponine in Les Miserables to donate some of her hair to the trust.”
Before visiting the hairdresser, Clerkhill School pupil Eilidh had never had her hair cut and it reached down to her hips.
Mrs Grant added: “She’d never had it cut and her hair has always been so important to her. But she said this is even more important.
“Now it’s even shorter than some of her brothers’ hair. I think people who have always known her as the girl with the long hair are in for a shock.”
Eilidh – who is currently rehearsing for her Christmas pantomime – added: “I thought I’d do it because I’ve got lots of hair and the other children don’t have any. I wanted to help.”
The hand-made, real-hair wigs commissioned by Little Princess Trust can cost up to £2,000 to make and Eilidh is now hoping to raise that amount of money to donate along with her hair.
The Little Princess Trust was founded in 2006 by the family of Hannah Tarplee who was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour and passed away in 2005.
Since it’s launch, the charity has helped more than 2,200 sick children.