A SEVEN-year-old girl from Charfield has raised almost £900 for charity in only two days after saying she would cut off her hair for charity.

Posie Stewart, who attends North Nibley Church of England Primary School, is set to lose her long locks that have been growing for the past nine months to support Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF), after her older brother Oscar was tragically taken by the disease.

Nine-month-old Oscar passed away in 2005, several years before Posie was born, and she said by raising the money going for the charity, she didn’t want anyone else to go grown up not knowing their older siblings.

The hair will be donated to the Little Princess Trust, and will go on to create a wig for someone recovering from cancer treatment, which Posie said she hoped would “make someone smile”.

Mum Rachael says she and husband David were surprised by how determined Posie was to go through with the haircut, as she had “burst into tears” when she saw her mum have her head shaved at a previous charity event for Dursley Rugby Club.

“Posie never knew Oscar, which is truly sad, but we have pictures up around the house and talk about him to her, so she knows all about him," she said.

“When she came to ask us, our response was simply ‘Really?’ It was absolutely lovely that she wanted to do that but we were shocked at the same time because she had previously had a meltdown.

“But she was determined, saying she was old enough to understand what it meant. We are just so proud of her to be such a caring person, especially at her age.”

Despite pleas to be allowed to shave her head completely, Rachael and Posie have met halfway in her getting a “pixie cut”.

Posie set up a JustGiving fundraising Page, originally setting out with an aim of raising £100, but the target was moved after being smashed in only 10 minutes, going on to raise more than £750 in less than 24 hours.

Donations are still coming in and, at the time of writing, have almost reached £900.

“It is mind-blowing to see the generosity of people and we are really grateful to everyone who has donated,” said Rachael.

The haircut is set to take place in Dursley during the Easter holidays, with a date yet to be confirmed.

To donate to Posie’s campaign, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/posie-stewart.