A teenage girl has been inspired by pop star Jesse J to lose her crowning glory so she can raise cash in memory of her  beloved Dad.

Although 14-year-old Hope Beech, of Plas Madoc, in Acrefair, near Wrexham, loves nothing better than to look after and style her magnificent long blonde hair she has bravely decided to have it all shaved off.

Hope is raising money for two charities which help sufferers from cancer, the disease which claimed the life of her father when she was just six years old.

Sharon Hughes, who owns and runs the busy Gozo Men hair salon at the Eagles Meadow shopping centre in Wrexham, has volunteered for the delicate job of sending Hope’s lustrous locks tumbling to the floor.

Cash from sponsorship of her very close shave will go to national charity Macmillan Cancer Support, which provides practical, medical and emotional support for cancer sufferers.

Hope’s hair will then be carefully collected up and donated to a charity called the Little Princesses Trust which specialises in using human hair to make wigs that can be worn by young cancer patients whose treatment means they have lost their own.

That means Hope, who is in Year 9 at Ysgol Ruabon, will be following in the famous footsteps of pop sensation Jessie J who donated her famous black locks to Little Princess  following her own live TV head shave for this year’s Comic Relief in March.    

Hope’s father, Peter Beech, died from lung cancer eight years ago when she was just a little girl and ever since she’s been determined to do something to help other cancer patients and their families.

The sponsored head shave, which Hope will undergo on August 12 – the eighth anniversary of her dad’s death – is the most high profile of a series of fundraising events she is masterminding in her quest to back Macmillan.

For the past few months she’s been taking her collecting bucket around local fetes and shows and just recently she raised £200 during a fun day held at Cefn Druids FC’s ground near her home.

Hope is also aiming to organise a fun day at a venue yet to be fixed on the day her hair comes tumbling down at Gozo Men, and in the pipeline for a later date is a charity football match.

She said: “Although I was only six years old when he died, I loved my Dad very much and a few months ago I decided to raise money for cancer charities in his memory.

“I don’t really know where the head shave idea came from – I just woke up one morning and thought I wanted to do it.

“I’m not really worried about it and I’m sure I’ll feel fine about being bald. After all, my Mum has got me some wigs to wear.

“I got the idea of sending my hair to the Little Princesses Trust after reading on their website how it would be used to make a wig for a little girl with cancer.

“I know Jessie J sent her hair there too, so that’s good.”

“I’m very grateful to the lady at Gozo Men salon for agreeing to cut my hair because it’s nice that an expert is doing it rather than someone who will just hack it off.”

Hope’s proud mum, Phillipa Beech, said: “I’m very proud of her for what she is doing to raise money for Macmillan Support in memory of Peter.  If a fun day or something like that comes up in the area she goes to it and takes her collecting bucket along.

“But it was a real shock when she told me she was planning to have all her hair shaved off because she loves it so much. She’s a proper girly girl and is always looking after it and styling it.

“Her hair, which is shoulder length, is her big thing in life and she’s giving it up, which is incredible.

“She’s had messages on Facebook from boys of her age saying they think she’s very brave for having it all shaved off and that they wouldn’t do it.”

Phillipa, who has two other children, four-year-old Jay and Scott, two, added: “I’ve already bought Hope quite a few wigs because I know that until her hair grows back there will be occasions when she won’t want to be seen as bald.

“I’ve got her two blonde ones, another in dark brown and even one is pink.

“She’s decided to donate her own hair to Little Princesses which makes wigs for boys and girls who have lost their own after cancer treatment, so that’s another good cause she is supporting.”

Sharon Hughes, who opened her successful Gozo Men salon in 2010, said: “I usually only style men’s hair but when I heard that Hope was looking for someone to shave off all her hair and it do it properly I was pleased to help her out.

“She is supporting two really good causes and I am delighted to make my contribution to what she is doing.

“In the past I have done total head shaves for young men who are doing it for charity but this will be the first time I will have done it for a young lady. I think she is very brave.”

You can sponsor Hope’s head shave on her page at http://www.justgiving.com/hope-beech