A REAL-LIFE Rapunzel whose cascading hair made her a school celebrity has donated it to cancer patients.

Emily Nightingale, nine, was "really proud" to have raised more than £1,400 by chopping off her locks for charity on Friday [[March 4]].

The Brize Norton primary school pupil, who lives in Carterton, said: "I wanted to give them a chance to have hair.

"I do like having long hair but it can be very annoying at times. My friends say that they didn't want me to do it because I’ve got so much long hair."

The reading enthusiast said she was "very, very, very excited" to have shoulder-length hair, an idea inspired by a television advert by cancer charity Macmillan.

She said: "It was someone who had lost their hair and it got me thinking. I told my mum about it."

Emily donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that makes wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy.

Her mum Hilary Nightingale, 40, said: "She’s always had attention from her hair. One of the little boys said she had the longest hair in the whole school – it’s definitely the end of an era.

"At no point was she upset or scared, she was so excited to do it, only closing her eyes at the first sound of the first plait being cut off. She was very happy to be doing such a good thing for sick children.

"When we left the salon with her plaits in a bag she literally skipped off singing 'I've done it, I can't believe I've actually done it, I'm so happy'."

The social media manager, whose 43-year-old husband Matthew Nightingale set up his daughter's JustGiving page, crochets hair pins to decorate Emily's hair.

She said: "Some people might think ‘big deal a kid’s getting her hair cut’ but some other kid is going to benefit.

"It is a huge shock to go through the illness and the medication and upset, but your hair is the only thing that’s constantly on show, apart from your face.

"It’s such a comfort. To have somebody offer that back, she’s awesome."

Emily, who grew up around three family members who battled cancer, had her hair cut for free at Kriss Kross salon near her home in Shilton Park.

Mrs Nightingale said: "My stepfather had bowel cancer. He was treated and went into remission but during that year my father was diagnosed with throat cancer.

"He was treated and went into remission but then my stepfather was diagnosed again. He had three tumours. He died shortly after.

"My dad is fighting fit and is very healthy, but his partner was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She’s a really strong-minded woman. She lost all her hair, which was a shock to the children who were quite little."

In a shock check-up last year, the pancreatic cancer had disappeared.

Mrs Nightingale, who said the family "all do what they can" to raise money for cancer charities, said they had been overwhelmed with donations from strangers who were touched by Emily's story.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/emilys-cut-for-cancer.