Wick’s brave Lydia lops off her locks to help ill children

Selfless Lydia Conway was inspired by the touching story of Ashya King, the five-year-old little boy with a brain tumour who made headlines across the globe recently after his parents travelled from Southampton all the way to Spain in an effort to get him the life-saving treatment needed to combat his illness.

Kind-hearted Lydia, who lives with mum Lisa, dad Lee and little brother Lewis at their home in Greenfields, Wick, decided she wanted to help seriously ill children going through cancer in whatever way she could

Lisa, 27, who is a newly-qualified midwife, said: “She had seen the story of Ashya King on the news and realised that he was poorly.

“That brought the conversation up about how some children can be really ill and how serious cancer can be.

“She seemed really upset that children could lose their hair and said that she would really like to give her hair to children that haven’t got any.”

The youngster cut off her brown hair last week and has donated it to the Little Princess Trust, which makes special wigs for children who have lost their hair through cancer treatment.

But as Lisa explained, Lydia’s actions have already touched other people.

“When we sent the hair off, the lady in the post office was so kind and touched by it she said don’t worry about the postage,” she said.

Lydia, who is a pupil at White Meadows Academy Primary School, has since said she is determined to hold other charity events.

“She is really passionate about helping people. She has such a charitable nature and always wants to give to others.”

Lydia is now hoping to have a cake stall in her garden to raise money for impoverished children in Africa.

“Once she gets a bee in her bonnet, she won’t let it go, so I’m sure she’ll get something organised,” Lisa added.