A Dundee hairdresser who borrowed £15,000 for her salon had all her equipment stolen two weeks after opening.
Heads Up Hair Studios in Meadowside was one of two salons hit by raiders in Dundee.
Sandra Kay (51) arrived at Heads Up Hair Studios on Tuesday morning to discover thieves had broken into her premises. They had use a large chisel or other tool to take the door off its hinges to gain access.
An iron bar designed to prevent break-ins had also been ripped off the wall.
The thieves made off with £1,000 in cash as well as three sets of £500 scissors, several GHD hair straighteners and several hair dryers, leaving Sandra and her staff with no equipment to cut hair until the items can be replaced.
”They came in through the back door which has three locks on it and an iron bar,” said Sandra. ”I am just devastated. I can’t afford not to open up and we are going to have to find money from somewhere to replace some of this stuff as we can’t wait for the insurance.”
Originally from South Wales, Sandra and her husband Graeme moved to Dundee five years ago and had borrowed £15,000 to refurbish and equip the salon.
She said: ”We decided to go into business for ourselves and had done everything to secure the building. Even the police said there was nothing more we could do.
”I just don’t know what you are supposed to do to stop these kinds of scum. They have taken at least £1,000 worth of stuff.”
She added: ”I always made sure there were at least two members of staff here at any time, but I’ve always felt safe.
”For a new business we had been doing really well, but we’ve had to spend the morning calling people to cancel their appointments.”
Roy Bairstow of Mane Hairdressing in North Lindsay Street also discovered his salon had been raided when he went to open up on Tuesday.
Thieves kicked down the front door and stole a small amount of cash, a laptop computer, tubes of hair tint and another straightener.
Mr Bairstow said: ”You should have seen the state of this place when I came in. They just kicked the door in, stole the float, a laptop which cost £1,000, and three sets of hair straighteners.
”My sister is also a hairdresser, so I was able to borrow some things from her until mine are replaced.”
Mr Bairstow (51) added he was not surprised thieves may be targeting hairdressers.
He said: ”It’s never happened to me before, but it’s just the time of year. We pay a lot for GHD straighteners, but people can get about £100 for a set if they sell them in the pub.”
A police spokesman said they were carrying out door-to-door inquiries and reviewing CCTV.