A six-year-old girl has donated her hair and more than £1,500 to a charity providing wigs for children going through treatment for cancer.

Ava Wells, from Ipswich, had her almost waist-length hair trimmed back to just above her shoulders on Saturday.

The discarded locks will now go to the Little Princess Trust.

The charity is able to send donated hair off to wig makers. The resulting wigs are then given to children free of charge.

Ava’s mother Rebecca Symonds said: “She wanted it shorter anyway and I said rather than it going to waste, some people donate their hair.

“She was all up for the idea.”

That conversation was last year and although it was put on the back burner for a while, Ava was still keen to do it. The idea returned just before Christmas, when one of her school friend’s mums did it.

A fundraising page was set up on the Just Giving website and brought in more than £1,500.

“I couldn’t quite believe how much she’d raised,” Mrs Symonds added. “A lot of people have donated to her.

“She understands what it all means. Every day she asks me to check how much has been raised and she knows it goes to charity.”