A seven-year-old girl is cutting off 12 inches of her long locks in support of the Hopper family.

Zoe Thomson (CORR) , of Stanley Road, in Brampton, has already raised about £1,000 in sponsorship ahead of the chop.

Half of the cash raised will go towards helping Tony Hopper and his wife Sue create last memories for their three young boys.

The youngster, who is in the same class as one of their sons, Adam, at Brampton Primary School, is going for the snip at the Brampton salon Hairport on Saturday (APR 22) .

Zoe said she has had long hair for as long as she can remember.

"I'm feeling confident," she said.

When asked why she wanted to donate the money to Adam's family she added: "It thought it would be nice."

Her hair - and the other half of the money raised - will be donated to the Little Princess Trust, which makes real-hair wigs for children who suffer hair loss through cancer treatment.

"I'm really proud of her for wanting to do it," said Zoe's mum Gemma.

"She's excited. She's wanted to get her hair cut since before Christmas. With her hair being long and lush I said no.

"She came up with this herself and I couldn't say no really.

"She wanted to do it to donate her hair for a wig initially, then we heard how Tony wasn't very well and with them being local and Adam being in Zoe's class we decided that half the money would go to them."

The former Carlisle United and Workington Reds star was diagnosed with bulbar onset Motor Neurone Disease, a life-limiting illness, earlier this year.

Tony, 40, and Sue set up ‘Creating Hoppy Memories’, a fundraising page to fill the next couple of years with a lifetime of memories for their children.

The News & Star is also backing the Hoppers with our Fighting Back For Tony campaign which highlights their efforts to support the association.

The Hopper’s family’s fightback fund page is at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Tony-Hopper .