STUDENT hairdresser Kimberley Fletcher has found herself at the cutting edge of fashion - after her college project caught the public's attention.

The 23-year-old, who is taking a level 3 NVQ in hairdressing at Darlington College, persuaded her brother, Anthony, to act as a model for her avant garde designs.

Now the Darlington hairstylist has friends queuing up to have bespoke designs shaved into their heads.

Ms Fletcher, who works at Rio's hair salon in the town's North Road, comes up with a suitable pattern which she then draws on the client's hair with a washable pen.

She then uses clippers to shave a sort of Maori design into the hair - an effect that lasts about two weeks.

"It is quite artistic and is far from being just a short back and sides," she said.

"I wanted to try something different and my brother is edgy in his attitude and dress and didn't mind.

"He loved the result and now all his friends want their hair doing.

"I can really see it catching on as you can personalise your head rather than just have a few spikes and a bit of colour. You could also do the same for women and cut in the shape of flowers."

Her tutor at Darlington College, hairdressing programme manager Diane Radford, said: "She really knew what she had in mind and the results were amazing. It's incredible what she has managed to create just with clippers."

Ms Fletcher eventually hopes to run her own hair salon but until then, plans to develop her creative cutting skills.