Kind-hearted Evie Bracken – daughter of former East London RFC skipper Dan Bracken and granddaughter of East London RFC President Nick Bracken – has donated locks of her hair to a charity that provides wigs for children with cancer, and raised more than £2,000 in the process.

Evie, five, had 13 inches of her hair cut off to support the Little Princess Trust, which offers real-hair wigs, free of charge, to young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions. It also funds research into childhood cancer with a view to finding kinder and effective treatments.

As well as donating her hair, Evie asked people to sponsor her and has so far raised £2,289, which is more than three times her initial target of £700, with 89 people donating.

Evie’s father Dan, who has played more than 400 times for East London, most recently in the home game against Braintree in December, said: “We are very proud of her for doing this, but it is typical of Evie. She is exceptionally kind and caring and she is delighted to know that she is helping make others happy.”

Proud grandfather Nick, club President and Rugby Football Union Council member for Essex, said: “Evie heard about people donating hair to make wigs for seriously ill children. She said she had long hair and wanted to give some to a sick child to make them better.

“The whole family thanks everyone for the support given. The Little Princess Trust has provided more than 15,000 wigs to children and young people with hair loss, and invested £23 million in ground-breaking childhood cancer research. It costs on average £700 to provide one wig so every penny raised is doing something good.”

People wishing to donate to Evie’s cause can visit www.justgiving.com and search for the fundraising page in the name of Daniel Bracken.