There are not many teenagers who would choose to cut all their hair off but Rhiannon Morgan will be doing it with a great deal of pride.

The 19-year-old from Chester will next month cut off the locks she’s been growing for years, in aid of a national charity that is extremely close to her heart.

Beat is the UK’s leading charity that supports anyone affected by eating disorders or difficulties with food, weight and shape, and this is something that Rhiannon herself is familiar with, having suffered from anorexia for nearly five years.

Her experience has made a massive impact on her health and wellbeing, and led to several hospital admissions into an adolescent psychiatric unit and detention under the Mental Health Act, but she is now nearing a stable state of remission and is hoping to start university this September.

“I wanted to support Beat because I value its role in helping people with eating disorders, especially when waiting times are so poor,” says Rhiannon.

“Unfortunately, eating disorders are not just physical, they also have a large psychological impact.

“And not all people with eating disorders are underweight either - weight does not determine how ill a person is.”

One in 85 people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder, that’s 725,000.

These illnesses have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric condition and up to 20% could die from an eating disorder.

So early intervention is crucial in saving lives and Beat can provide the first contact to guide and support people in accessing the treatment they need.

Rhiannon explains: “Eating disorders are closely linked to other mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and OCD.

“I have experienced this, and I do see my depression as being closely related to my anorexia. In my view, it’s either one or the other – when I am a stable weight the anorexia surfaces as depression.”

Her experience has led her to want to make her own contribution to charity to raise money, and that’s why she has decided to cut her hair off.

“Cutting all of my hair off may seem like such a small thing, but it is one thing that I can actually sacrifice in order to raise money,” says Rhiannon.

“My hair is kind of a ‘protective barrier’.

“I was going to run a marathon, but unfortunately for me I am still trying my best to recover from over-exercising, so maybe next year!

“My personal struggles with anorexia and my attempt to live in remission have motivated me to support as many people as I can.

“I want to raise money because mental health in general is really underfunded at the moment, and Beat’s support can be life-saving.”

“Cutting my hair also has a deeper meaning to me,” she added.

“I have always had long hair, and it is currently damaged from my ill-health, so I’m hoping to grow it back stronger – without it being affected physically by anorexia.

“I want to put that chapter of my life behind me, and although it will always be there in my mind, I will not let it have another chance to steal my physical health as well as my mental health.”

To sponsor Rhiannon go to www.justgiving.com/rhiannon-morgan3/.