A MOTHER-of-two who lost both parents to cancer and is now watching her best friend fight the disease has pledged to shave her head to raise funds for the charity which supported them all.

Deborah Walker will cut off her shoulder-length locks in a show of solidarity for friend, Chrissie Doherty, 44, from Breightmet, Bolton, who is undergoing treatment for cervical cancer and has lost all her hair.

The accounts clerk, whose mum and dad died just eight months apart, hopes the hair-raising feat will raise awareness as well as much-needed funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

After unveiling her dramatic new look, she also plans to donate her discarded hair to The Little Princess Trust, a charity that makes wigs for children who are going through cancer treatment.

Deborah, 44, who lives in Radcliffe, Bury, and is a former fundraiser for Bury Lions, says people have described her efforts as brave but she has dismissed it as ‘only hair.’

She said: “The really brave ones are those, like Chrissie, who are fighting cancer.

“I’ve lost count of the people I’ve lost to this disease, but Macmillan is there every step of the way – for the patients and their families, even after their loved ones have passed away.

“They are fantastic, I can’t sing their praises enough. They help people physically, emotionally, even financially.

“If you’re so poorly that you can’t work, your bills stack up and it’s an extra worry on top of everything else.

“They’re angels and I just think what they do is really worthwhile. This is my small way of helping them the way they’ve helped me in the past and are helping others now. “

Deborah says she has already been inundated with sponsorship from family and friends and colleagues where she works at law firm, Slater and Gordon, in Manchester.

She is continuing to collect donations up until the close shave on Saturday, October 10, at The Lock Keeper in Radcliffe.

She added: “Everyone thinks I’m mad for doing it, but brave as well.

“It’s taken two years to grow my hair this long, but at the end of the day, it’s only hair and it will grow back.”

Deborah is taking part in Macmillan’s ‘Brave the Shave’ campaign, which encourages people to shave their heads in return for donations to the charity.

To sign up or to sponsor Deborah: go to bravetheshave.org.uk/shavers/deborah-walker.