Thousands snatched at salon

Thousands of pounds was stolen from a Ludlow beauty salon as therapists tended to their clients. A thief made off with takings from the till and customers' credit card slips.

The thief struck at Heatwave Tanning and Beauty Spa in the old Angel Hotel complex, off Broad Street.

Today Jess Kinsey, a therapist at the salon, said she wanted to warn other businesses to be alert.

She said: "It was about 3.10pm on Thursday. There were three of us working and we were all with clients carrying out treatments.

"We have a bell on the door which rings every time someone comes in, so that we can attend to them. However, our alarm had been tampered with in the last few days and the bell was not working.

"Someone came in and took all the money out of the till without us knowing. We're not sure at the moment exactly how much was taken but it would have been into the thousands."

Miss Kinsey said the first they knew of the burglary was when salon owner Natalie Brookshaw went to place a payment into the till and found it empty.

She said: "Natalie asked me where all the money was and we just looked at each other and realised what had happened."

The theft was reported to police who are checking nearby CCTV cameras.

Miss Kinsey said: "There are some builders doing work outside and they said they saw a man running out of the salon and have given a good description. You just don't expect this sort of thing in Ludlow."

All customers who had paid by credit card have been contacted for security reasons. Anyone with information is asked to ring police on 08457 444888 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.