Carnforth schoolboy to brave the shave to raise money for Lancaster hospice in memory of grandad

Carnforth High School student Matthew Roberts has been growing his hair since the beginning of 2020, after watching a TV programme about a child with cancer.

He decided he wanted to donate his hair to the Princess Trust, which provides free real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their hair through cancer treatment and other conditions.

Matthew is also raising money for St John's Hospice in memory of his grandad Ken Debnam, who was cared for at the facility before he passed away in September 2017 from lung cancer.

Matthew will be having his head shaved by his hairdresser mum Nicole on December 11.

He has already smashed his £500 target by raising more than £3,200.

And a raffle organised by Nicole using generous donations from local businesses has also brought in £730.

"My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer and was care for by the hospice for about three weeks before he died," said Nicole, who also has two other sons.

"At the time it was very difficult for me to explain to a nine-year-old about cancer. We sat down and watched a programme about people with cancer and it had a little girl with leukaemia who lost her hair and had been picked on, and Matthew said he wanted to give her his hair.

"He nagged me every time I cut his hair so eventually we decided to let him have a go.

"I kept thinking he would tell me to cut it off but he just kept on growing it. It was a very brave thing for him to do and everyone has been really supportive of him."

Matthew now has to wear his hair in a ponytail to school after growing it around 15 inches long.

You can donate to Matthew's cause here