A KIND-HEARTED youngster from Ramsbottom had her prized long locks cut off to raise money for her cousin who has incurable cancer.

Ellie Fletcher had grown her hair for three years after an unfortunate incident with some scissors, but decided to have her hair cut so it could be used to make wigs for children battling cancer.

The seven-year-old had grown her hair after developing a love of the Disney film Tangled based on the Rapunzel fairy tale, and had wanted to grow her locks so long that she could sit on them.

But she decided to have the trim after realising that her mother's cousin, Sally Duncan, was wearing a wig as she was undergoing chemotherapy to treat ovarian cancer.

Ellie and her mum initially set a fundraising target of £250 but this was quickly smashed and more than £600 has been raised since.

The fundraising bid has also been boosted after receiving a plug from Ellie's cousin, Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley, who mentioned it on her blog.

On her blog, the soap star said: "My cousin Ellie is doing something wonderful. She is donating her beautifully long hair so that another little girl, poorly with cancer, is able to have a wig made."

The 12 inches of hair will be sent to the Little Princess Trust, which provides wigs to children undergoing cancer treatment.

Mrs Fletcher said: "Ellie saw a few pictures of Sally with longer hair and commented on how nice her hair looked, and I told her about her having to wear a wig.

"When she found out she asked me about wigs, and I explained that people donate their hair to be able to make them, and then she decided she wanted to help.

"Ellie had cut lots of her hair off a few years ago and since then it has grown and grown, but she wanted to help someone who needed it more than her."

Mrs Duncan, who married her husband Kenny earlier this year, has raised more than £38,000 for The Christie in the past year through a number of charity events, and Ellie's hair cut will add to the huge total.

She said: "What Ellie has done is absolutely fantastic, I am over the moon that she decided to have her hair cut for my charity.

"With the money which Ellie has raised we will hit the £40,000 mark, which I never thought we would achieve. We only set a target of £5,000 to start with."

The 43-year-old from Horwich is currently undergoing the latest cycle of chemotherapy at the hospital.

She said: "I have been quite poorly the past couple of weeks but I am doing OK at the moment."

To donate to Ellie's fundraising bid, visit bit.ly/1RNYMSb