AN inspiring nine-year-old has cut her hair for the first time in order to donate it to sick children.

Mika Ansell, a year five pupil at Evelyn Street Primary School, made the brave decision to give her long locks to the Little Princess Trust to make real wigs for people who have lost theirs due to cancer treatment or other illnesses.

Sitting in front of her fellow classmates on Tuesday, the Sankey Bridges pupil braved the chop – having only ever had her hair trimmed at home by mum Teresa Carolan.

"I said to her, 'Do you really want to?' because I needed her to be sure," said mum-of-three Teresa.

"She had been asking me for ages, so I agreed to it just over a week ago and it has gone from there. I've told her it will always grow back.

"Her brothers, Caleb, Joshua and Kaiden, who is also at Evelyn Street, think it's fantastic and such a nice thing to do.

"I'm really proud of the school for getting onboard, I'm really proud of people who have donated, I'm proud of people that have gone to businesses and banks and donated money.

"I think they have all been really generous so I'd like to say thank you to them as well.

"I can't believe how much she has raised."

Thanks to sponsorship forms that have been distributed around the school and to businesses across Warrington, Mika has raised more than £300 to date, which will also be sent to the children's charity.

On her decision to donate her hair, the schoolgirl said: "My uncle had cancer and some people who are in school have cancer and they might get picked on because they don't have any hair, and that's not fair for them."

Jennifer Hindley, head teacher, spoke of the school's pride following Mika's kind gesture.

She said: "We are all very proud of Mika for donating her long hair to the Little Princess Trust and would like to thank anyone who sponsored her."

Teresa Carolan would like to thank Kemp and Collins Hairdressing for giving Mika a free haircut following the fundraiser.