And it was a far cry from the regular cut and blow dry as students arranged fantastic hair styles and painted weird and wonderful designs on the faces and bodies of their models.

This was the first time the festival had been staged at the college itself as the newly-built Leonardo House offered plenty of space for creation and display. Previously, events had been held in Bury's Corn Exchange.

The categories included themes such as a Fantasy Fairytale hairstyle, Virtually Challenged hair, Goddess, Masquerade and Funky Street with a peacock, flamingo, tiger and butterfly in the animal section, adding to the exotic aura of the event.

Hannah Woodward, 16, from Barningham, won best in the catwalk beauty category with her leopardskin makeup on her model, her grandmother Jean Turner-Elson. She also went on to take best overall in the beauty section.

Overall hairdressing winner was Katherine Warner with her Goddess created on Jodie Chapman, hair stylist from Chapmans, in Stowmarket. Katherine, 18, from Shimpling, a level three student, works at the salon run by Jodie and her mum.

Jo Webb, hairdressing lecturer, said: "There were lots of vibrant colours and some of the work was absolutely fantastic. The judges were impressed by the high standards."