10-year-old charity champion from Dunstable has raised £2,000 for good causes

She may be only 10 years old, but Dunstable schoolgirl Bella Duggan has already raised more for charity than most people do in a lifetime.

The youngster, who’s in Year 5 at Ardley Hill Lower, started off making blue and yellow ribbons for Ukraine and ended up having her lovely long locks cut off for the Little Princess Trust, a charity in aid of children who’ve lost their hair through cancer treatment or other conditions.

Over the past couple of months she’s raised £430 for the former and £1,400 for the latter – and she’s hoping to make even more.

Her proud mum Nichola says: “She’s amazing, it’s incredible what she’s achieved in a matter of months.

"We have a Ukrainian family living near us and through them we visited the Luton branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.

"Bella was immensely touched by what they were doing and said ‘If I make some ribbons maybe I can sell them.’

"I work for Essity – the company behind Tena incontinence products – and they gave me some surplus stock for the Association.”

Bella created a cross-over design with a safety pin and sold them at school, her dance club and in her Grandad Oliver’s pub, The Sugar Loaf in Luton.

Nichola said her daughter was so inspired by all the money she raised, she decided to have her hair cut for charity: “She’d toyed with the idea before but that was all.

"When she said she wanted to go ahead, we asked if she was sure. But she was adamant.

"She was so excited about getting it done but there were literally a few tears in the chair at the last minute.

"But my friend Lauren Garrity of Hairs and Graces in Dunstable said: ‘Come on, you can do it – it’s for charity.’

"And with the first cut, Bella said: ‘I love it! I love it!”

The young charity champ is still making ribbons for £1 a piece – you can buy one at The Sugar Loaf.

Nichola and husband Martin, a ground worker, describe Bella as “a very very considerate and thoughtful little girl with a heart of gold.”

> Sponsor her at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bella-duggan