A LITTLE girl from Menstrie has bravely cut an amazing 16 inches off her hair to raise money for a Glasgow hospital charity.

Emily Docherty had never had her hair cut before and at the age of six decided that she would take the plunge in order to give it to other children who need it by donating it to the Little Princess Trust.

Not only did she donate her long locks, the Wee County girl has now raised over £800 – and counting – for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, formerly Yorkhill.

Mum Amanda told the Advertiser that everyone is so proud of Emily, not only for her selfless actions, but also because of her spirit despite a number of her own health conditions.

She said: “Emily has been in and out of Yorkhill [now Glasgow Children’s Hospital] since she was a day old. She had a bowel blockage when she was born, then they discovered a dimple at the bottom of the back which turned out to be an extra piece of tissue on the spine.

“They also noticed that she had a dislocated hip at 21-months-old which had been missed. She got her first operation on that at two, and her latest one just last September, after which she was in a wheelchair for nine weeks.”

On top of that, Amanda and husband Ross discovered that Emily can’t lift her arms straight over her head, something which has stumped doctors ever since.

Despite everything, Emily, who is partially deaf in her left her, is a “cheery wee girl” and has never let it hold her back in her tender years.

Amanda continued: “She is a cheery wee girl. During all of that, she has been amazing.”

The idea of donating her hair came from her mum who has herself made donations to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides real hair wigs to children with hair loss.

Despite some anxiety about parting with her knee-length locks, Emily agreed as she was preparing to fly out to Florida on a family holiday.

“It just grows and grows,” Amanda added. “She mentioned getting it cut a couple of times but never had the courage to get it done. I told her about the Princess Trust and she said let’s do that.”

Family friend Lynne McTurk, a hairdresser, was called in to do the cut on Saturday, April 20, and despite a couple of wobbles and tears, Emily shed an incredible 16 inches.

The Docherty family are now hoping to raise even more money for the hospital charity.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so at justgiving.com/fundraising/amanda-docherty3?utm_id=25