An Amman Valley schoolgirl has taken to the hot seat to have her locks chopped for a cancer charity.

Ysgol Gynradd Brynaman pupil Sophia Crawford has raised over £700 for the Little Princess Trust after cutting 12 inches off her hair and donating it to the charity to help young people in need.

The Little Princess Trust is a charity which provides wigs free of charge to children who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other illness.

The eight-year-old visited Joshua’s Kids Cuts and Barbers Shop in Mumbles along with her mum Victoria to make an appointment and ended up having her hair cut the following day.

Mum Victoria, from Brynaman, said: “Sophia decided to cut her hair short to raise money for the Little Princess Trust after seeing a video on YouTube.

“For about two weeks I kept on making sure that she definitely wanted to go through with it and she kept on saying she was certain that she wanted to help poorly children.

“She turned around and said that she can grow her hair back and there’s some little girls who are not able to do that.

“The hairdressers at the salon had done a similar haircut for other girls in the same situation before and they also prepare the hair before it gets sent off to the charity.”

After taking part in the good deed Sophia has now influenced another family member who wants to follow in her footsteps.

The mother-of-three added: “Sophia’s younger sister Gabrielle, who is only five, has asked if she can have her hair cut short when she turns six so she can send her hair.

“I am going to do what I did with Sophia and make sure it is completely her decision, and I will encourage whatever she decides to do."

Kind donations from family and friends through a just giving page has enabled Sophia to raise enough money for at least one wig to be made which costs around £500. 

“She is an inspiration. She only turned eight last month and all the family are so proud of her," added Sophia's mum.