Young Hayling brothers hope to raise over £300 after chopping hair off for charity - but they need your help to do it

Max and Loki Austin from Hayling Island made the daring decision over a year ago to brave growing their hair and then donate it to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which makes wigs for girls and women up to 24 years old who are suffering from various illnesses.

Max, eight, has previously grown his thick hair to the minimum donation length of 7in before and donated it - and said he wanted to do it again.

His mum Alice Austin, 37, said this led to his younger brother Loki, seven, wanting to join the fun.

Alice said: ‘Loki has extra needs and finds processing change difficult, he only ever lets the hairdresser trim his hair so I’m so proud of him as hair is a part of his identity.’

The pair were constantly mistaken for girls whilst growing their hair, said Alice, who said they found it difficult at times as it was ‘such a big change’.

Max never wanted to have his hair tied back and Loki embraced his blonde curls,much to Alice’s surprise.

Alice said: ‘The reasoning behind choosing this charity is because having hair is a huge part of growing up and the idea of young girls not being able to have hair because of an illness is heartbreaking.’

Alice set up a JustGiving page, with a target of £300 as that’s how much a wig will cost to make with the young boys’ hair. So far, the family have raised £90 of this target and are yet to receive more help.

After a year of growing the hair, it was cut off last week.

Alice decided to cut their hair herself as she felt like this was the best way to get most of the hair donated. She said initially, the boys were elated after they braved the chop, and that she was ‘blown away by how selfless they’ve been’, especially Loki.