A woman from the world of investment banking has raised more than £9,000 for charities close to her heart after pledging to go bald.

Mani Hirani, 39, of Stanmore, will have her head shaved next month to raise money for three charities to mark her 40th birthday.

During the past few weeks she has raised a staggering £9,390 for the three causes with just over two weeks of fundraising to go before the cut.

Mrs Hirani will have her hair cut on her birthday on Thursday, June 6, at Costa Coffee in Stanmore, at 7pm.

She said: “I have just been blown away by people’s generosity. It’s lovely to see people in the community coming together and getting behind the cause. It’s really uplifting.

“I have had the idea for a while and I knew I wanted to make my 40th birthday about me giving something back to mark the milestone.

“This is really important to me because I am giving somthing very personal and the response I have had from people and businesses in Stanmore has been fantastic and really surprised me.”

The charities set to benefit are St Luke’s Hospice, based in Harrow, the 240 Project which looks after socially excluded and vulnerable adults, and the Honeypot Children’s Charity.

She said: “I knew from the start I wanted to raise money for charities at a grass roots level and which don’t get a lot of government money so I did my research.

“I’ve been blessed in many different areas of my life so I want to give to charities which help people in different ways.”

After the haircut Mrs Hirani will be taking leave from her work in the City and will be volunteering with each of her chosen charities for four months.

Anyone interested in sponsoring Mrs Hirani can do so by going to www.manigoingforbald.me.uk