A thankful auntie and a group of family and friends has raised over £5,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity after shaving their heads in solidarity with her six-year-old nephew, who underwent life-saving cancer treatment at the hospital twice.

30-year-old Jenny McLean, from Barrow-in-Furness, had always said she’d shave her head for charity if the cause was right and that time came when her brother, John’s, son, Ezra, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

Ezra was five when he began to complain of a painful knee, which soon ballooned in size. His parents knew something wasn’t right and were devastated when tests and scans revealed cancer for the second time in Ezra’s young life, having battled Retinoblastoma, in his eye, as a baby.

Ezra began chemotherapy at a hospital close to home and as his hair began to fall out, John pledged to shave his head to help stop his son from feeling self-conscious. Tragically, before he got the chance, John passed away.

As Ezra’s cancer continued to progress, doctors advised the next course of treatment would be amputation. It was another blow for the family and Ezra would need to travel to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for the specialist surgery, where he also received his cancer treatment as a baby.

In the meantime, to help keep her late brother’s promise, Auntie Jenny began to plan her head shave. In John’s place, his best friend Jamie volunteered to brave the shave too, alongside friends and family, Frances, Rachel, Sarah, Leye, Frank and Matthew.

At a small gathering at home, just a few days before Ezra’s surgery, the six took it in turns to receive their new buzz cuts. The group had managed to raise a whopping £10,000 to be split between the hospitals caring for Ezra, before they’d even started. Further money was raised by colleagues at the local Shipyard in Barrow, where many of the family and friends work.

Jenny said: “Birmingham Children’s Hospital has saved Ezra’s life twice now, so as well as shaving our heads so Ezra didn’t feel alone, we’re so glad we could also raise so much to give back and say thank you. Everyone watching the shave was so moved.

“Ezra’s amputation surgery went really well, he’s been given the all-clear and he’s back to his happy, bubbly self. He’s just incredible.”

Miranda Williams, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “After such a traumatic and distressing turn of events, Ezra’s family rallied together and we can’t thank them enough for sacrificing their locks for us.

“We’re so glad to hear that Ezra is doing well now. The incredible funds raised in his name will go towards helping to improve experiences at our hospital for our sick kids and their families.”