A young Mansfield girl has had her hair cut to help other children — raising almost £1,000.

Seven-year-old Chloe Flude,a pupil at Abbey Primary School, Mansfield, was helped by the hair salon at neighbouring Samworth Church Academy for the charity chop.

Her hair was donated to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real-hair wigs to children who have lost their hair through medical conditions or procedures.

Chloe said: “I was a little bit nervous before, but it is all for a good cause. I want all those people who feel bad about themselves to feel good.

“We hope that we can raise lots of money for the Princess Trust too.”

Chloe had previously always had long hair and her mother, Sarah Flude, said: “Chloe decided to have her hair cut for the Little Princess Trust after we saw a picture on a noticeboard of another girl who had already done it.

“When she asked me what it was for, I explained, and she said she would really like to do that too.

“She has always had long hair and we knew this would be huge change for her. I did talk to her about the fact that her hair would be very short, and she said she was OK with that as her hair would grow back. She understands that others aren’t so lucky.”

The fully-equipped NVQ training hair salon at Samworth is run by Bev Nita.

She added: “Samworth Church Academy and Abbey Primary have a close relationship and so we jumped at the chance of helping Chloe’s gesture of kindness go as well as possible.

“After cutting her hair in front of a whole school assembly, we were able to whisk her off and create a brand-new look for her without delay. We hope that we made the day a little easier for Chloe, who is very brave and kind to make this sacrifice.”

Abbey head teacher Kim Wakefield said she was immensely proud of Chloe’s act of kindness, which required 30cm of hair to be collected to work.

“This is just so typical of Chloe! As one of our Year 2 pupils, she is a very happy and mature member of our school community and shared her fundraising idea with our School Council, who were more than happy to support her efforts.

“This was done in front of the whole school, who supported Chloe’s efforts by raising a magnificent £452.27 —and counting — for the charity.”

Chloe’s father, Philip Flude, said: “I am very proud of her. We weren’t even surprised when she asked to do it because this is just what she is like.”

Chloe said she would let her hair grow long again and would consider having another sponsored cut for charity.

“When I have my new haircut, I am going to go around all my school’s classrooms and show everyone my new hairstyle,” she added.

Chloe said her only worry about the experience was whether she could hit her target of £550 she set to raise for the charity.

However, the £452.27 raised at the schools has been further boosted by donations and her total currently stands at £943.27.