A brave schoolgirl will shave off her curly locks to raise money for a charity supporting seriously ill children.

Sammy Livesey, nine, has persuaded her mum Debby to go through with the head shave after telling her ‘don’t worry, my hair will grow back but these children don’t come back’.

The St Mary’s Clayton-le-Moors pupil is aiming to raise £2,000 for the Rainbow Trust.

A fundraising event to mark the occasion will take place at the Arthur Wilson Centre.

Debby, of Pickup Street, said she was ‘very proud’ of her daughter for going through with it.

She said: “Sammy has been wanting to do something for charity for a while and she was inspired to do this by two of my friends, who are doing something similar for Derian House.

“They weren’t comfortable doing it with a child and I asked Sammy if she wouldn’t rather do something like a fun run.

“However, she said she would raise more money if she did this and talked me round.

“She looked up children’s charities to decide who she wanted to raise the money for and made the decision on her own.”

Debby added: “I asked her if she was sure and I’ll never forget what she told me. She said don’t worry as my hair will grow back but these children won’t come back’.

“That was a turning point.”

Debby, 42, said Sammy will be watched by school friends and family at the event which will be a ‘rainbow-themed child orientated’ day.

It will take place on Saturday, December 5 from 2pm and include a tombola, raffle, face painting and a bouncy castle.

Debby said: “We are going to paint her pigtails in different colours and people can pay 50p to cut them off.”

An auction will be held for the first head shave to get her hair down to a number four, before a hairdresser makes the final shave to tidy everything up.

Debby added: “I’m really proud of her and she has blown me away with it.”

To sponsor Sammy visit www.justgiving.com/sammy-liveseyshaveoff or text SALI64 £1 to 70070.