A BRAVE 10-year-old girl from Droitwich has had all of her hair shaved off in a bid to raise money for Cancer Research.

Savannah Pell decided to shave off her long blonde hair on October 1, which would have been her father Matthew Pell’s 50th birthday.

Matthew passed away from lung cancer when Savannah was only four, and the family always take time to remember him on his birthday, by eating his favourite foods, watching old home movies, and wearing their own shirts from his beloved Manchester United.

Her mum Macey Stringer, said: “My eldest mentioned his dad would have been 40 this year and Savannah said ‘what are we going to do for his birthday? It’ll have to be something big.’ The next thing I know she said ‘I’m going to have all my hair shaved off for charity’.

“She was just incredible, she really is incredible, I’m so proud of her. it’s an incredible selfless thing that she’s done.”

On her fundraising website, which has already collected more than £1,300 Savanna, a pupil at Witton Middle School, added: “I want to do something to help others as well as mark the occasion by raising money for cancer research so hopefully one day other little girls won't have to say goodbye to their Daddies too soon.”

Mrs Stringer added: “She kept wanting to check the website when it was getting close to £500, and every donation after that has left her speechless. The day she had her hair cut she went through the roof.

“I put off starting the Just Giving page not because I thought she would actually change her mind, but part of me thought she might forget about it or want to do it slightly differently, but she kept nagging.

“She had initially wanted to raise some for Cancer Research, and some for St Richard’s Hospice where Matthew was looked after, then she realised she had to choose one charity. She was very matter of fact about it she said ‘I’ve already asked Mummy in the past what the hospice had done for Daddy, but if I raise the money for Cancer Research, St Richard’s Hospice will have less patients to treat if they find a cure.’

“Some of the things people have said have been so lovely.”

Savannah had all 19 inches of her hair shaved off in front of a crowd of supporters, which even included one of her school teachers.

Her mum added: “She’s just like her dad in so many ways and I would never have said that about her when she was little. She has a matter of factness about the way she looks at life and such a compassion. He’d certainly have been smiling down on her, and he’d know how shocking I would have found it.”

Savannah has donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides wigs for children going through chemotherapy.

She has her own Just Giving site where people can help with her fundraising efforts at justgiving.com/Savannah-Pell/.