Two seven-year-old girls from Cumbria have raised nearly £900 for Alopecia UK after donating their hair to the Little Princess Trust.

Caroline Clement, who lives in Workington, has been struggling with alopecia for around five years but has seen the auto-immune condition worsen in recent months, losing her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. 

Her daughter's friends, Elsie Drabble and April Jackson, are regular visitors to her house and are naturally inquisitive when they see her without her wig.

After learning more about the condition, which causes hair loss, they were keen to help raise money for Alopecia UK and their research, as there is currently no cure. 

Caroline said: "We explained about the condition and they wanted to do something to help and they had their haircut. Alopecia UK doesn’t take hair donations so they’ve sent their hair to the Little Princess Trust, which provides wigs for children who have suffered hair loss through alopecia or cancer treatment. They wanted to try and raise some funds for alopecia research, to go towards finding a cure for it."

The youngsters hoped to raise £100 with their efforts but have comfortably achieved that goal, with their JustGiving total at an impressive £893 at the time of writing. 

Caroline said: "They’ve absolutely smashed it. It’s been quite heartwarming to see how many people have donated. Obviously, alopecia can be quite a debilitating condition that can affect your anxiety.

"But I’ve tried to set a good example for my daughter and her friends by embracing it. We also want to raise awareness of the condition because it’s surprising how many people suffer from it.

"I think it’s really important to raise awareness but also to be accepting of yourself and portray that body positivity. April had never had a haircut, so I was really touched when they came to the front door and said ‘look what we’ve done’.”

You can donate to Elsie and April's JustGiving page here.