A mum who was desperate to help a toddler in his fight against leukaemia has shaved her hair off to raise money.

Kayleigh Barnes, from Aspatria, decided to back the Save Our Stan appeal by shaving off her hair.

The appeal for the Carlisle tot, Stanley Dalton, has erupted since going live only a couple of weeks ago. The family need to raise £500,000 to get Stanley to Singapore for life-saving treatment.

Kayleigh decided she wanted to help Stanley in his fight by raising some money to go towards the fundraiser.

She explained: “My mum was the idea behind the whole thing, because Brooke Bell was a little girl who died of leukaemia from the village where I grew up and it reminded me of that.

“I thought to myself, 'it’s only hair, it will grow back'.”

Kayleigh came up with the idea last Monday and by the Saturday her hair was gone.

Kayleigh’s dad used to work with Stanley’s dad Lee at Llyods Volvo, so she feels even more connected to the appeal.

She said the whole thing was “heart-wrenching”, especially knowing Stanley is the same age as her daughter.

Kayleigh continued: “It’s heart-wrenching that in this day and age we have to help people.

“But it’s fantastic that we are able to help.”

Money is still being donated to the head shave but the last time Kayleigh checked she had raised £730, which will all be donated to the appeal.

“It’s nice knowing your hair is worth something,” added Kayleigh.

“At the end of the day it’s devastating, but if you are on that campaign on Facebook it’s amazing to see how much Carlisle and Cumbria pull together when someone really needs it.”

Kayleigh has had a lot of support from the Spar and Esso in Aspatria, and she has noticed the plethora of people doing an amazing amount of fundraising.

As well as doing a head shave, Kayleigh also decided to don her wedding dress again and, joined by some friends in fancy dress, walked the streets of Aspatria collecting money.

Kayleigh said: “We got married two years ago and I thought 'I’m never going to wear it again', so I walked around with my friends collecting money.”

Visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/saveourstan1 to donate.