A nine-year-old Exmouth schoolboy is to have his hair cut for the first time in memory of his late uncle.

Billy Bond’s uncle Greg Deakin died last September aged 31. He had Down’s syndrome and was a volunteer at Exmouth’s Scope charity shop.

Billy will also be raising money for Scope when he has his hair chopped on Saturday, April 6. He is collecting sponsorship and has set up a donations page on JustGiving.

His mother Jennene said Billy had come up with the idea for the fundraising haircut himself.

She said: “He’s never had a haircut - this will be the first time. He’s had it trimmed, but never cut. I haven’t measured it, but it’s in the middle of his back right now.

“When everything went on with Greg and we held his funeral, we asked people to donate to the charities Greg had been working with, instead of giving flowers, so Billy had seen that it was possible to raise money for charity in that way.

“So he came up with the idea that if he cut his hair people could give him money for Scope, and in honour of Greg.

“He was very close to Greg, he saw him most weekends, so it’s just lovely for him to be able to do something like this. I think he’s nervous now as the money is coming in and he can see it on the fundraising page, but I think he’s also excited about it – the more people talk to him about it the more real it is.”

Exmouth Journal: Showing the length of Billy's hair now

Billy, a pupil at Withycombe Primary School, said: “I feel nervous, but also excited at the same time. I only had short hair when I was a baby, and I have never had it cut - I’ve been growing it since then.

“I want to raise money for Scope to help disabled people, and it was a charity that was important to my uncle Greg. I was really happy when I was with Greg and I enjoyed when he was there for me. I think he would feel really happy and proud of me for what I’m doing.”