"I decided I wanted to do something for Alder Hey... The care they give the children is amazing"

It was a real charity chop for Angela Westby.
Angela Westby with her niece Amelia Webster and the 15 inches of hair she had cutAngela Westby with her niece Amelia Webster and the 15 inches of hair she had cut
Angela Westby with her niece Amelia Webster and the 15 inches of hair she had cut

The 33-year-old mum, of Anchorsholme, underwent the snip in aid of two really good causes close to her heart.

Angela, who works at her family’s bar O’Connors Bar in Cleveleys, had 15 inches of hair cut off her luscious locks, to help Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and The Little Princess Trust.

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She was inspired to carry out her charity feat by her niece Amelia Webster, aged two, who was born with the condition AV malformation – a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain.

Angela with her long hair, before she underwent the charity chopAngela with her long hair, before she underwent the charity chop
Angela with her long hair, before she underwent the charity chop

Angela said: “When she was just six weeks old, she had to have brain surgery at Alder Hey; it was 50/50.

“But if they had left it, she wouldn’t have made it to two. She and my family have really been through the wringer.

“So I decided I wanted to do something to raise money for Alder Hey.

“The care they give the children there is amazing.

Angela with her long hair, before she underwent the charity chopAngela with her long hair, before she underwent the charity chop
Angela with her long hair, before she underwent the charity chop
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“And the support my sister has had from Alder Hey and the Ronald McDonald House there, it really does make such a big difference to families going through a difficult time.”

Angela decided, as she had long hair, to hold off getting it cut and then have 15ins chopped off – raising money through sponsorship for Alder Hey and donating the locks to the Little Princess Trust, which makes real hair wigs for children and young people who have lost their hair due to illness such as cancer.

Her hairdresser at DYN on St George’s Avenue, Cleveleys, carried out the haircut and was really supportive, Angela said: “My hair feels really short now, it’s in a bob. I actually really like it.

It was really long before.

“When they measured what was chopped off, it was 15 inches. I do want to grow it again but I love how it looks.

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“I have raised £500, which will be split between Alder Hey and the Little Princess Trust.

Everybody has been so generous, including the customers at our family-run bar.

My son has now been inspired to do a bake-off for Alder Hey.”