A CHILDHOOD friend of a Weymouth woman with advanced breast cancer said farewell to his long locks in the name of charity.

Ollie Bland, who is originally from Weymouth and now lives in London, had his long hair and beard chopped off to raise funds for Second Hope, a charity dedicated to advanced breast cancer.

He was inspired by his friend Vicky Yates and her battle with the condition and came back to Weymouth over Easter so she could have the honour of cutting it off.

Ollie will also be donating his hair to The Little Princes Trust, which make wigs for children who are undergoing cancer treatment.

The success of the charity hair cut has taken Ollie and his supporters by storm, he aimed to raise £400 but has already amassed more than £2,000.

Vicky, of Kirtleton Avenue, Weymouth, was diagnosed with primary breast cancer in November 2010, at the age of 31, and had surgery to remove the cancer as well as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy.

Whilst on hormone therapy, she was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in August 2015.

The cancer had spread to her lungs, liver and lymph nodes and Vicky is currently undergoing chemotherapy to try and keep it at bay for as long as possible.

Vicky said: "Most people don't realise the true implications of a diagnosis of advanced breast cancer and how many young women are dying from this disease.

"Only a small amount of money raised for breast cancer research is put towards research of advanced breast cancer, most of it goes towards primary cancer.

"Advanced breast cancer is incurable and the average life expectancy after diagnosis is between two to three years."

Second Hope is the only UK charity specifically for people living with advanced breast cancer.

It is run purely by volunteers which means all donations received go to fulfill charitable aims and objectives, not to pay salaries and overheads.

Anyone who wants to sponsor Ollie can visit justgiving.com/Oliver-Bland