A MISS Wales finalist from Monmouth has been raising money for charity with her ’Bubbles and Brows’ fund raising event.

Twenty-four-year-old Eleri Roberts from Monmouth is a beautician who is now studying to be come a nurse. As part of international women’s day, she managed to raise £532 for Beauty with a Purpose at a Bubbles and Brows event in Chepstow on Saturday March 8.

Eleri, along with Siobhan Ellen worked from noon until 4pm, providing their services at discounted rates. There was a raffle and a canapé buffet for guests to enjoy, as well as Prosecco on arrival, all hosted at the Quayside hair and beauty salon in Chepstow.

Eleri said :"We are very overwhelmed with our achievement!"

All of the Miss Wales 2020 contestants will be undertaking a series of challenges in the run up to the final, the most important of which is the fundraising for ’Beauty with a Purpose’, which helps disadvantaged children worldwide.

The Monmouth finalist has been inspiring others with her story of how she overcame a severe stammer to pursue her goal of winning the Miss Wales competition.

At the age of six, she suffered with a lisp and a stammer and went to speech therapy.

The condition got progressively worse throughout her teenage years, so much so that other children poked fun at her in school which made Eleri shy away from all sorts of opportunities that came her way.

She said: "I was quite introverted at school. The more anxious I got about the stammer, the worse it became. I wanted to be on the school council but couldn’t face the thought of speaking in public."

The stammer negatively affected Eleri’s schoolwork too, particularly in English classes when she was expected to read aloud for the class.

The condition affected Eleri for more than 10 years and throughout her time at Monmouth Comprehensive School. Gradually, however, she was determined to overcome the speech impediment that she knew was holding her back.

Eleri said: "I’d practice reading with my best friend and learned coping techniques like pausing mid-sentence to compose myself."

Gradually, Eleri’s stammer has reduced to the point that only those who are very close to her would know that she still stammers occasionally.