A CHARITABLY-MINDED eight-year-old is getting her long locks cut off to help children with cancer.

Grace Clifford of Rodbourne Cheney Primary will sacrifice her hair in front of all her school friends on July 20 while raising money for the Brighter Futures radiotherapy appeal.

She is donating her hair to the Princess Trust, a charity that makes wigs for children who are undergoing chemotherapy.

Grace said: “I don’t want to see someone who’s upset because they don’t have any hair because of cancer.

“I’ve had lots of support from my family and my friends said it was a nice thing to do. The whole school can watch and people can give money.”

The youngster is organising a dress-down day at the school and will award a prize to the boy and girl who come in with the craziest hair style. She’s now in the process of designing posters on PowerPoint to help spread the word. Visitors are welcome to watch the haircut in the school playground and make donations.

Grace’s Mum Lucy said: “I’m really proud of her and very overwhelmed by how kind she is for doing it. No influence came from us, it was all her. She just wanted to get her hair cut for charity.

“She’s very excited. She’s on a countdown now. I think she’s been on a countdown since June and she’s been researching pictures of haircuts.”

When asked if her other children were taking a keen interest in their sibling’s charity cut, Lucy said: “My son probably not so much but my youngest daughter has been and she’d like to get her haircut as well.”

The care home worker from Swindon informed the Adver that her father Simon had been receiving cancer treatment for three years. Although it wasn’t radiotherapy he needed, he did have to travel outside of Swindon to access suitable services, something Lucy is sympathetic to.

“The kind of treatment he has can be quite painful and it can really affect him obviously when he travels back to Swindon. It’s been hard for him. He’s had nearly three years of treatment so it’s looking good at the moment.”

Swindon cancer patients in need of radiotherapy treatment face repeated trips to Churchill Hospital in Oxford to access vital services. Once Brighter Futures reaches its £2.9 million fundraising target, the charity will be able to purchase cutting edge clinical equipment for a new radiotherapy centre at Great Western Hospital.

The new facility will spare around 700 patients a year from the 70-mile round trip at a time when rest is crucial to a comfortable recovery.

So far Grace has raised just over £250 for Brighter Futures. To sponsor her cut, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lucy-clifford2