Impington girl cuts off hair to raise money for lost trees

A girl who was devastated to see trees cut down to make way for road improvements has cut off her hair to raise money for new saplings to be planted.

Lily Layzell, 12, from Impington, was shocked when the trees standing at the entrance to her village were felled by the Highways Agency as part of the A14 upgrade.

So she took her thigh-length tresses and asked for sponsorship to have them cut off to raise money for re-planting the lost trees.

And she donated the one metre-long ponytail to The Little Princess Trust, a charity that makes wigs for children with hair loss.

Lily said: “There were loads of birds when they chopped the trees down and I was really sad. I was upset about how bad it was for all the wildlife. We used to see rabbits there, most of the common birds and lots of insects inside those woods.

“I had been thinking about cutting my hair for a while and then I heard about this group that had sprung up trying to raise money to buy more trees and I thought it would be a good idea to cut my hair to raise some money them.”

Histon and Impington Trees is looking to replace around 1,000 of the trees in the next 18 months on land close to junction 32 of the A14 and is fundraising and applying for grants. Each sapling will cost around £3.65.

Dan Mace, from HI Trees, said: “We are extremely pleased that Lily is making this donation. At the time they were felled, there was a huge outcry in the village. We formed this group to negotiate with local landowners for space to plant more trees. We think we will have to wait for another 18 months until the road works are finished before we start planting. This money will help towards out target.”

So far, Lily has raised £609 on her Just Giving page, which will purchase 167 young trees.

“It’s more than I ever imagined I would raise,” says Lily. “I was kind of frightened about having my hair cut because it has been long for such a long time but it was exciting as well. I had lots of different emotions when I saw myself.

“A hairdresser came round to our house and she cut it in the kitchen. She said it was the longest hair she had ever cut.”

Lily’s mum, Amanda Layzell, said: “We are so proud of Lily. She really cares about wildlife and what she has done is amazing. Lily has been growing her hair all her life – she’s had it trimmed over the years but this is the first ‘cut’ she’s had. She had such thick, long hair - it used to take three hours to brush, wash and dry.

“They cut off two big bunches, each 24 inches long. It will be enough to make three wigs for children, so it is lovely that two charities have benefited.”

To donate to Lily’s campaign, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lilytrees.