A “LITTLE princess” grew her hair for months specially to have it chopped off for child cancer patients.

Emma Moroney, nine, donated all her hair last week to chemotherapy patients through the Little Princess Trust.

The charity gives wigs to boys and girls who have lost their hair after treatment.

Emma, who lives in Cholsey, said: “It felt quite scary but I knew why I was doing it. I wanted to help little children because it’s hard for them to lose their hair. I didn’t mind me not having any because people with cancer don’t have any, and it will make them feel better.”

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She found out about the trust online, and convinced her parents to let her help.

Her dad Neil Moroney went with her to Clippers hair salon in Cholsey’s The Pound, where they lopped off her shoulder-length bob for free.

He said: “This was all Emma’s idea. She said one day, ‘I want to donate my hair to make wigs for children with cancer.’ “We thought it was a fad and found out through research that her hair was not long enough. A couple of months later, she said, ‘Is it long enough now?’”

Mr Moroney and wife Clare kept measuring their daughter’s hair until it exceeded the seven inches she needed to be a donor.

He said: “She was very nervous going into it, but once the first lock goes there is no going back. They cut it off with a big pair of scissors, she was really brave.

“She is in the First Cholsey Cubs and lives the motto of putting others before yourself.”

Her parents bought her a new hat to help keep her head warm after the hairdresser gave her a ‘number two’ cut. Emma, who goes to Cholsey Primary School in Church Road, has raised £535 for the trust through sponsorship.

She said: “My friends are really standing by me. It’s quite exciting because I know that somebody’s going to have my hair to use. It looks really neat now.”