Hair and beauty salons have been put on full alert in March following a break in at one of them, a theft from another and an attempted break-in at a third.
Female members of staff at Spoilt Rotten, Reavive and Tanique have been left feeling scared and unsafe following the incidents which are believed to have happened over the weekend.
The victims said they believe that the suspected thieves – who tried to steal cash from each premises - targeted the salons because they knew women would be working there.
Saffron Stevens, who owns Spoilt Rotten on Station Road, now feels “wary” after the door of her salon was kicked in on Friday night. The suspected thieves, however, fled the scene after failing to find any money.
“Because I’m in on my own, now I’m a bit wary – especially as it is women that they seem to be targeting,” she said.
“I was having the day off and I got a message on my business page on Facebook on Saturday morning saying that there was a hole in the door.
“The people next door said they heard a bang at about midnight on Friday,” she said, adding that she has since installed CCTV cameras.
“They didn’t take anything luckily – they just kicked the door in and were looking for money - but who’s going to leave money on site overnight?”
Saffron - who opened her salon on December 1 after spending a year getting it ready - said that, after the break-in, other local salon owners were offering to lend her products to keep the business running.
“It was nice that people tried to help and I have had a few people stop and check how I’m doing.”
She added that the police were with her quickly too, and that a forensics investigator arrived within half an hour.
On Saturday afternoon, Tanique and Reavive – at the other end of town and just doors away from each other - were targeted by thieves.
Leah Stevens, of Guyhirn, who was working alone at Tanique when two men entered the salon, called it a “distraction burglary.
“It was about 4pm and two guys came in and they were constantly talking. I kept saying I don’t understand and they were waving a bit of paper with a map on it.
“The one on my right was too close and I said ‘you need to back away’; he said ‘okay okay’ but I noticed the bit of paper was carrying up the cash drawer.
“It’s a really basic desk so what creeps me out was that they must have watched us to work out where the money is kept .
“They left within seconds and the moment I picked up my phone to call the police I heard a scream from a few doors down – it was Maria, who owns Reavive salon.
“She told me that they were banging on her windows and they let themselves in even though she said she was closed.
“One of them stole her purse and she pushed them out and saw one of the men jump into a waiting car.
“He opened her purse, took the money out and threw the purse back at her.
“I was just in a bit of shock after it all. It’s horrible because we’re young girls.”
Leah James, an employee at the salon, believes that Tanique was targeted.
She said: “It was 100 per cent planned. Leah, our Saturday girl, said she was left traumatised and crying after the incident.
“It’s a bit worrying,” she added. “It’s something you never would expect to happen; you wouldn’t think that just before locking up you’re going to get robbed.
“It’s not very nice for anybody to have to deal with that. We’re trying to stay open longer to get more clients but are we even safe to do that?
“It has made an impact on us; it’s a really horrible feeling knowing that we’ve been targeted.
“We’ve steeped up our security but now we’re just constantly on edge.”
We have contacted the police force for a statement in relation to these incidents.
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