STRAPLESS or sporty, underwired and undercover, squeezers, teasers, lacy or racy - the modern bra comes in all shapes and sizes.

Women are being encouraged to take this normally discreet garment and wave it above their heads for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Judging by those fundraisers who have already got in on the act, it's a liberating feeling. "We went around waving bras and shouting at people," said Pauline Miller, of Acomb. "It was great."

With such an enthusiastic endorsement, this innovative idea is bound to catch on. Who knows, by the end of October, there might even be a bra fluttering atop the Mansion House, flying the flag for cancer care.

Updated: 10:25 Tuesday, October 04, 2005