A YOUNG Rochdale hairdresser reached the final of a national hairdressing contest.
Nicki Mehta, aged 21, who has worked at Jamilla Paul Hairdressing in Nelson Street for five and a half years, beat off competition from more than 900 other hopefuls across the country.
He was one of only 20 finalists of the Wella Professionals Trend Vision Awards in London yesterday.
To qualify he had to choose his favourite theme from the Wella Professionals' hair trends collection and create a style which was inspired by this.
His chosen theme is called Techno Nature. He submitted pictures of a model he had styled, and was chosen for the first round of the competition where he convinced judges he was good enough to reach the final by styling a model and giving a presentation about his chosen theme.
The pressure was really on for Nicki in the final. He had just three hours to cut, colour and style a model's hair and give a presentation.
His model then appeared in a fashion show on the day before a winner was chosen.
Nicki said: "I was chuffed to get to the final. My friends and colleagues travelled down to London to support me, which I was really grateful for, especially as tickets are £140 each."