Boy, 11, has first haircut to help cancer patients

An 11-year-old boy has had his first ever haircut after being inspired to grow his knee-length locks to help children who had lost their own through cancer.

Aaron, from Scarborough, had more than a metre of hair removed, which he plans to donate to the Little Princess Trust to make real hair wigs for young cancer patients.

He said he had decided to take the step after meeting a number of children who had lost their own hair while visiting his sister Julianna on the oncology ward.

Speaking after the big chop he said: "I'm very happy and I've got a feeling someone out there is going to be very happy too."

Aaron's dad, Adam, said: "When we were visiting those hospitals, he was around three and was asking questions about why children there didn’t have any hair.

"So we had those conversations with him and he understood that concept from quite early on.

"He always said ‘when I get my hair cut short like yours Daddy, can I give it to them?’."

Aaron said he felt "quite nervous" before the chop but had been looking forward to the new style and donating his hair to a worthy cause.

"It is the first time I've ever had my hair cut, but I'm also excited about it," he said.

"It's a new chapter in my life."

Aaron explained that he was known as "the boy with long hair" at school, so this would be a change.

Reacting to the haircut, Julianna said: "It's weird to see him with short hair because I'm so used to it, but it looks really good."

As well as donating his hair Aaron has also raised almost £2,000 to be split between the Little Princess Trust and the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]