CHARITY fundraising has gone to the head of a nine-year-old Wilsden boy.

Dev Patel has lost his flowing locks in support of the Little Princess Trust.

And his efforts have coined-in over £2,000 for the charity, which provides real-hair wigs – free of charge – to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other conditions.

Dev grew his hair through lockdown, and recently went under the scissors in support of the trust.

As well as donating his hair, he has raised funds through a social media campaign and online JustGiving page.

"I grew my hair because my youngest cousin grew hers for charity as well – so I was inspired by her," said Dev.

“I am proud of myself. I want to make a difference to other people’s lives.

“Growing my hair was quite hard because I had to change a lot of stuff that I normally do. For example, I had to wear a shower cap in the shower, and when I went to school I had to have my hair tied up.

“It was tough, but I would encourage others to try it.

“My mum and dad also helped me a lot, and they encouraged me to carry it on.”

Dev’s mum, Priya Patel, said the whole family was “very proud” of him.

“Dev has been growing his hair for more than two years, and has only just cut it off,” she said.

“Through lockdown he was growing his hair anyway, and he then asked if he could grow it for the Little Princess Trust, and we’ve been supporting him ever since.

“He grew his hair to between 13 and 16 inches, which is a lot.

“It’s not been an easy process, as it can be harder for a boy to grow his hair than for a girl. People would be shocked when they saw how long his hair was, but he took it really well. He would tell people that it’s for charity, and he was very confident about it.

“When we tell Dev that we are really proud of him, he’ll just turn around and say that we should be proud of his cousin, who was his inspiration.

“But we are proud of both of them, no matter what.”

Established in 2006, the Little Princess Trust has supplied over 8,000 wigs and donated around £5m to childhood cancer research.