Girl, 10, from Gloucestershire raises £2,000 for premature babies

Lily-Mae had nine inches of hair cut off for the Princess Trust which will be made into wigs for children with cancer

A girl who was born three months early a decade ago has been raising money to help other premature babies.

Lily-Mae, from Gloucestershire, has raised £2,000 for the Scoo B Doo charity, which supports the Gloucester Royal Hospital (GRH) neonatal unit where she stayed for two months.

She had nine inches of hair cut off to donate to The Princess Trust which makes wigs for children with cancer.

The schoolgirl said helping others felt "really good".

The Scoo B Doo charity helps supply care packages and equipment for babies and their families at GRH.

Lily-Mae, from Gloucestershire, visited the ward she stayed in when she was born three months early

Lily-Mae weighted just 1lb 11oz at birth, with dad Mark saying it is "difficult to put into words" what they went through.

On returning to the hospital for a visit with Lily-Mae 10 years later, he said: "For her to still be here now, it's very emotional for us".

"I've got to be honest I was dreading it a bit coming back in but to see everyone in here and the way they treated us it was amazing… I'm glad we came back."

Mum Sarah said being back was "amazing, quite scary and emotional".

She praised the staff who she said "weren't just here for Lily-Mae they were here for us too".

"So many times I would bolt out of there crying but they would always come and find me and talk to me. They were like my counsellors as well."

Lily-Mae at one month old, holding her brothers hand

Lily-Mae said seeing the babies was nice but she could not believe she was once sleeping in the incubators.

She said as well as having her hair cut off, she did a bake sale to raise money and "give something back".

Sarah said as parents, they are "so proud of her, I've just got no words. She's absolutely amazing".

Sarah and Mark previously raised around £5,500 after leaving the hospital with Lily-Mae just over nine years ago with a bike ride.

Lily-Mae before having nine inches of hair cut off ....

Consultant Paediatrician and Scoo-B-Doo trustee Dr Miles Wagstaff, who works at the hospital, remembers Lily-Mae from her stay as a baby.

"It has been lovely to see such a good outcome… they spend a long time here some of these families… it's a roller coaster ride."

He said the £40-50,000 raised by the charity each year is spent on "equipment, staff training and stuff that is essential but not covered by the NHS".

So for Lily-Mae to raise the money for Scoby Do "absolutely [makes a] big difference," he added.