Inspired by pal to lose our locks

An 11-year-old Ashford girl has been inspired to lop off her long locks by a school friend’s cancer battle.

Holly Hills and mum Sally are both having drastic haircuts to raise money for Bloodwise, a charity that helps people living with the disease.

The pair decided to go short after St Mary’s Primary pupil Holly’s school friend Freddie Newing was diagnosed with leukaemia last July.

Freddie’s experience, which has been regularly featured in the Kentish Express, isn’t the Hills’ first brush with cancer. Sally, 34, faced her own health crisis when she faced leukaemia in 2011.

Aged just 29 and with two young children, Sally fought through chemotherapy and, five years on, is in remission.

However, she vividly remembers the impact of losing her hair.

“My son William, who was three, wouldn’t talk to me unless I had a wig or a hat on,” she said.

“People do have a habit of staring. It makes it very visible. Before the hair goes people don’t realise you have cancer, but then everyone knows” Sally, who works for her hus- band’s business Roadside Rescue Ltd, said she is really proud of blond Holly for making such a bold statement and for donating her hair to The Little Princess Trust.

“Not many children of that age would be willing to do that, but Holly knows how important a wig is. She wants a little girl or boy to have her hair.”

The Hills’ haircut is taking place on Friday, June 4, and you can sponsor the pair via www. justgiving.com/fundraising/ Sally-Hills1

Bloodwise (formerly Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research) supports people with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood disorders.

The Little Princess Trust provides real hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland that have lost their own hair through cancer treatment.

Sally Hills and daughter Holly are having their long hair cut off to raise money for Bloodwise, after being inspired by Freddie Newing, who was diagnosed with leukaemia