A FEMALE medical student from The University of Manchester is putting male Movember donors in their place by ‘growing’ a different moustache every day through the month.

Kate Hyde is slowly getting used to the double-takes as she walks around Manchester and attends lectures sporting a variety of extravagant designs drawn on with eye-liner.

She’s vowed to draw on a different moustache every day this month and upload it to her donor page as she seeks to raise money for men’s mental health and research into testicular and prostate cancer.

Kate, who is from Bere Alston, Devon and in the second year of her medical degree, said: “Some of my friends’ dads have had cancer and I wanted to raise some money to fight these illnesses.

“So far the style has mainly been ‘French’, but I’ve got a Charlie Chaplin lined up and they’ll be getting bigger over the course of the month to match some of the men.”

Kate sought permission from the Manchester Medical School, but as she wasn’t due to go on any placements at hospitals in the month, its Head, Professor Tony Freemont was happy to grant it. “We’ve never had a request like this before,” he said. “But Kate is just the sort of person who makes a fantastic doctor and is typical of the caring attitude we find among our students.”

Once she graduates Kate is hoping to specialise in emergency medicine and right now she is a member of the University’s Cancer Awareness in Teenagers and young people Society (CATS), in which students help to promote awareness and early diagnosis of cancers in young people.

Movember also has close links with the University, funding the Belfast-Manchester Movember Centre of Excellence which brings together researchers from The University of Manchester, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, and Queen’s University, Belfast to develop a cure for prostate cancer.

Kate added: “I was at a restaurant and got a few strange looks from the other diners and I get some surprised looks in the street, but everyone has been really positive about what I’m doing.

“People can donate and make suggestions for moustaches on my Movember webpage and I’ll do my best to use them during the month.”

You can donate and make suggestions at: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/10045429