The mother and daughter team behind a Timperley hairdressers are fearing a hefty bill after thieves stole the paved area in front of their salon.
Co-owners Coreen Flaherty and mum Lorraine Johnson have traded from the Finishing Touch salon on Stockport Road for 18 years.
But Lorraine had not encountered anything like the scene that awaited her when she arrived to open up just after eight o’clock this morning.
A large section of the Yorkshire Stone paving in front of the salon had been dug up overnight, leaving large patches of exposed and unstable earth and rubble.
Below: Part of the salon’s front yard that was dug up last night
“I was shaking like a leaf when I arrived and saw it, very frightened,” she told us. “I was worried they might had done something inside.
“Were it not for our husbands sorting it out, we wouldn’t have been able to trade today because of health and safety – we have a lot of ladies with disabilities.”
The theft, which has been reported to police, would have involved a lengthy amount of digging and there are likely to have been some witnesses. A total of 28 paving slabs were taken, leaving 15 behind.
An initial viewing of some CCTV footage of the area would suggest the crime took place after 1.30 this morning.
Lorraine and Coreen do not yet know whether they will be able to claim the damage on insurance.
Below: Coreen Flaherty (left) with mum Lorraine Johnson outside the Timperley salon
