Pinchos Bentzion Sudak has proved that every penny counts by bringing in one million of them — or £10,000 — towards the development of the Edgware Lubavitch centre.

It has taken Mr Sudak, 19, six years to fulfil the barmitzvah pledge. He began by distributing hand-made penny tubs to guests at his simchah and collected 20,000 pennies in the first fortnight. He has since received donations from all over the world.

“It is a great achievement to finally finish,” he said. “I was keeping the money in buckets under the bed.”

The son of Edgware Lubavitch director Rabbi Leivi Sudak, he came up with the idea because “people don’t really care about pennies — but a lot of pennies can go a long way”.

Now studying in America, he is excited that the money will fund a marquee at the centre which will accommodate extra worshippers, particularly over Yomtovim. “I wanted to do something that would benefit the community. It has been amazing to receive donations from people who are not my friends.”