A PITSEA woman said goodbye to her flowing locks this afternoon in a bid to raise money for a charity that has supported her, her daughter and family as they have coped with a complex heart condition.

And as a bonus, the hair cropped from BodyShop consultant Pam Peat Kirkman will be put to good use after being donated to the Little Princess Trust to make wigs for patients who have cancer.

Pam has been inspired by the charity Evelina Children's Heart Organisation (ECHO) which supports children and young people with heart conditions and their families, who've been treated by Evelina London Children's Hospital.

Her daughter Rosie was born on 18 February 2015 at St Thomas Hospital in London by c section with a very complex heart condition called Interrupted Aortic Arch with ASD and VSD.

At just five days old Rosie had to undergo her first open heart surgery, an operation that lasted 12 and a half hours.

After a lengthy recovery she was released but has since spent lots of time having further medical treatment at Basildon Hospital and the Evelina in London due to other problems. She has been diagnosed with feeding problems, scoliosis in her spine, a very rare genetic condition called KBG Syndrome,global development delay is tube fed 18 hours a day.

Rosie has also had to undergo another open heart surgery earlier this month but despite having to fight off a chest infection she is now back home with her sisters.

Pam says: "Throughout this we had support from ECHO and through the charity have met wonderful families who understand as they have gone through the same as us. Without ECHO we wouldn't have this support as a family and would feel very isolated and alone."

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, ECHO is facing serious financial difficulty, while simultaneously witnessing a huge increase in requests for help and the number of people eligible for support.

The charity is seeing around 70 per cent loss in income compared to 2019, the largest gap in funding they have had in the 36 years they have been operating.

"If this doesn't change ECHO may cease to exist," says Pam. And this is why I have decided to fundraise for them. We need this charity so I am going to shave all my hair off and my daughter Emma has decided to have her hair cut up to a bob and both of us are going to donate our hair to the Little Princess Trust.

"If you can spare even a pound that would be great or if you could just share this page around we would appreciate it. Let's get ECHO this much needed money to keep them going."