THE care given by Macmillan nurses when her mum was treated for kidney cancer prompted Donna Simpson to Brave the Shave for the charity.

She went under the clippers at the John Samuel salon in the centre of Swindon and said goodbye to her shoulder-length locks.

“I was fed up of dyeing my hair anyway and it was going a bit wild,” she told the Advertiser afterwards.

Donna, 44, of Faringdon Park explained she had decided to do something for the charity, which provides specialised cancer care nurses for patients undergoing treatment, because of the support it gave her mother Angela 18-months ago. “I just did it for her and for Macmillan,” she said.

“They have Go Sober for October but I don’t drink so that wasn’t going to work. I could have had a coffee morning but I’d want to eat all the cake,” she joked. So she decided to take the Brave the Shave challenge and has so far raised around £150.

After she left the hairdresser’s chair she said: “Last time I had hair this short was when I was a baby.”

Proud mum Angela, from Walcot, said: “She is very brave to do this.”

She explained Donna suffered bullying in the past and had her confidence knocked badly. “She has very little self-confidence so to do something like this, well, it has just blown me away. I am very proud of her.”

Angela, 67, who had her kidney removed and has had to undergo regular scans since, praised the Macmillan nurses who cared for her “They are just there if you want to talk and even if you don’t. They, are not intrusive, they are just there all the way along,” she said.

Anyone who wants to help her fundraise can donate online at bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/donna-simpson2