A SCHOOLGIRL has been praised for her charitable actions after donating her hair to charity.

Laila Irving, nine, of Prudhoe was eager to donate instead of going to the hairdressers after a friend told her about the charity.

"Laila had been saying for a while that she wanted a haircut, and we were about to book an appointment at the hairdressers," said Laila's mam Becca Irving.

"Then, out of the blue, one of our friends told her about the Little Princess Trust and how she could donate her hair cuttings instead of being left at the hair salon.

"She was told by our friend how it helps young girls who had been through chemotherapy and other awful illnesses.

"After that she became very passionate about donating her hair to the charity."

When announcing she was doing the challenge - it was no surprise to those who knew her of her kind actions.

Becca said: "She has always been and is a very kind and generous girl anyway, but I was very impressed that she wanted to do this for others.

"After she was told about it, we did a little research about the charity; then we had our neighbour and friend come and measure the hair length."

"We saw that the minimum length was seven inches, so the first plan was to cut off only nine, but our neighbour said we could cut the maximum of 11 inches off."

Laila had her hair cut by a neighbour and hairdresser friend of the family.

Becca adds: "After the hair cut she was a little worried that it was shorter than she would have liked. She has gotten used to it now so she is quite happy with it and has helped others too."

With the donation of her hair - Laila was also able to fundraise alongside the challenge and impressed others and herself by raising £300.

Becca said: "We are amazed that we were able to raise so much money for such a great charity.

"£300 is quite a lot of money and we looked it up that it is almost the cost of making the wig.

"We are very proud of her and can't stop admiring her for being so kind to do this action for the charity.

"We would also like to thank everyone who donated.

"Anyone who still wants to donate can do it via the charity's website - it does not have to be through Laila's fundraiser."

Reflecting on her actions, Laila said: "I am very happy and proud of myself for raising that much money for the Little Princess Trust."