A project set up to ensure homeless people can get a free haircut by a professional barber or hairdresser has received national recognition.

Haircuts4Homeless has around 40 outlets across the country with 300 hairdressers volunteering for a few hours each month to ensure rough sleepers do not miss out on personal grooming.

One of the first to sign up to be part of the initiative, which has two outlets in Walthamstow, was Danielle Balcombe.

The mother-of-three recently received the National Lottery’s Big Surprise – which honours individuals who have made a real difference with the help of National Lottery funding.

The project’s founder Stewart Roberts collaborated with the National Lottery to arrange for Mrs Balcombe, an avid Meatloaf fan, to put down her scissors and be the star guest at the musical, Bat Out of Hell in the West End.

Arriving at the Dominion Theatre’s stage door, Mrs Balcombe thought she was about to complete some filming about Haircuts4Homeless but suddenly the doors were flung open and members of the cast leapt out to invite her to be guest on their show.

“I was completely overwhelmed at the surprise,” she said. “I’m such a small part of Haircuts4Homeless so to be recognised like this is very humbling.

“It should be our founder Stewart who was given the fright of his life.”

Danielle’s Big Surprise was filmed by the National Lottery crew and will air on Saturday, November 17, during the break of Saturday night’s The X Factor, giving Haircuts4Homeless exposure to five million viewers on ITV.

Mr Roberts of Romford said: “Danielle is a classic example of the support we’ve had.

“A local freelance hair stylist she’s already a busy lady but was one of the first to step forward and say ‘yes, I can help with that.’

“Now one of our team leaders, working alongside a dedicated team of hairdressers, Danielle delivers not only delightful haircuts but also banter, friendship and a listening ear for people who are often overlooked.”