Welsh female barbering sensation Sophie Collins has been helping to promote gender equality in the industry ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March.

Sophie from Soph’s Barbers in Llanbedr is no ordinary barber.

The 27-year old was crowned the best wet shaving barber in Wales in 2017 before being invited onto This Morning with Piers Morgan, where she shaved weatherman Alex Beresford live on air.

She has also graced the pages of the Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Express and the BBC homepage.

Sophie, has had to overcome a number of challenges throughout her eight-year career, starting with the fact that many people close to her said she would never make it as a barber as at the time it was very much perceived to be a male- dominated industry.

She also had to deal with the embarrassment of a number of male customers simply refusing to allow her to cut their hair as she was a woman.

The vast majority have since returned and are now happy clients.

See this week’s north editions, in shops and online on Thursday