A kind-hearted schoolgirl has donated her long locks to a children’s charity that provides hairpieces to ill youngsters.

Rachael Betschart, nine, chopped off her lengthy tresses on behalf of Locks of Love, which uses donated ponytails to provide high-quality prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children who suffer from conditions such as alopecia.

Rachael, who is in year five at Warwick Academy, had been talking to her parents about setting goals for herself for 2015, and compiled a list of ideas.

She had wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love for some time and bravely decided on New Year’s Eve to finally get the chop.

Her hair had to be longer than ten inches to donate, and was cut by her regular hairdresser at Tangles, Jan.

Rachael told The Royal Gazette: “I heard my mom talking about Locks of Love and I felt that since my hair was more than ten inches long, I knew I could do it.

“I’ve been wanted to do it for a long time. I wanted to do it since I feel bad for the children because people could tease them and I wanted to help them out. I’ve always had long hair — I’ve had it down to my shoulders. It feels good short.”

Rachael’s mother, D’Arcey Betschart, said her daughter had been very determined to do the good deed and never faultered in her decision.

“She was ready for it, she didn’t waiver in her decision,” she said. “Never once in the chair did she say she didn’t want to do it — she was very definitive in her decision.

“I am very proud. We had talked about it before and had heard of friends doing it.

“It seems a waste just to have a haircut so why not do something with it?

“Rachael goes to Warwick Academy, which does a great job of highlighting children’s achievements.

“As a school community, they talk about charity in assembly and I think it helps the kids to understand and it empowers them to be more philanthropic .

“I think charity is a hard concept to teach children because in their mind they say there are all these millionaires, why don’t they feed the children?

“When they can do something like this I think it is easier for them to make that connection.”

Asked whether she planned to keep her hair short, Rachael said: “I’m going to grow it back and do it again.”