Burnley nine-year-old raises £500 for Little Princess Trust and disabled friend

With the cut having taken place on April 30th, Rosewood Primary School student, Keira-Louise Winder, braved the scissors in the name of The Little Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs free of charge for those who have sadly lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other illnesses, and her best friend, Noah Pickard, who uses a wheelchair and has cerebral palsy and quadriplegia.

With two of her school friends, Olivia Cheetham and Lily Todd, with her on the day, Keira-Louise's mission was "to make other children and Noah happy," according to her mother, Emma Winder, who said that the whole family - her father, Kyle, her brother, Kaiden (seven), and her baby sister, Kailey (11 months) - were all so proud of her.

"She was really nervous the night before and she couldn't really sleep, but it went fine," said Emma. "Olivia and Lily have helped her so much with fundraising and always being there for her. She's really happy with it, she looks so much more grown up! I cried when she had it done, we're all so proud."

As well as donating her hair to the Little Princess Trust, Year 4 student Keira-Louise is planning on giving half the funds she has raised to the charity, with the other half going to Noah for him to use in any way he wants, be that for future wheelchairs, other necessary disability provision, or a day out with his mother, Helen, and sister, Eve.

"When she had it done, she said 'I can feel it, it's gone!'" said Emma. "She was really happy, I've told the baby that when she's nine she's doing it too - she's got ridiculously long hair! Keira-Louise said to me this morning that when it grows back she's going to do it all again."

As well as raising money through the sponsored cut, Keira-Louise also raised £62 through a school raffle, as she, Olivia, and Lily sold toys donated to her cause by Tesco Burnley and the Wacky Warehouse at the Hollywood Star with the support of their teacher.

"I'm very proud, her dad's super proud, we all are," said Emma. "She says she can't wait for someone to be able to have her hair."

If you would like to make a donation to Keira-Louise's cause, head to her GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/ybb8mc-make-a-child-smile.