A WOMAN has lopped off her 12-inch locks for a charity who makes wigs for cancer-stricken children.

Kathryn Lees, from Clovenfords, had a luscious head of black hair - but when she heard of the Little Princess Trust, who make real hair wigs for children who have lost their hair through cancer treatment - she decided to grow it long and donate-the-do for a good cause.

"I grew my hair for about two years. When I told my boss my idea, she jokingly asked if I was going to shave it, and I said that if I managed to raise £1,000 I would!"

Katherine surpassed her target and raised an impressive £2,268 for the charity - and so the razor came out.

"It looked a little better than I was expecting it to," she said. "I actually don't mind it that much. My hair doesn't mean that much to me, but that's because I have a choice, and I know it'll grow back.

"But when I was younger and someone told me I was losing my hair involuntarily, I would have been devastated - and I'd be so upset that I would never have long hair again, thinking it would never grow back.

"Now I look at it as just hair, it isn't important to me - but for a young child who's going through so many other things, I know it won't be easy. It's just nice to give them one less thing to worry about.

"I think it costs about £350 to make one of the real hair wigs, so hopefully I've helped. I think the money I raised will be able to make about six wigs."

The 23-year-old carried out the charity-chop last weekend at her local, The Clovenfords Hotel, and is very grateful to the management and staff who were so on board.

She also wanted to thank everyone who donated, baked, bought cakes and raffle tickets, and supported her in this endeavour.