Anger after hair salon smash and grab raids

Jane Duffy, 42, said raiders ‘violated’ her workplace after L&C Barbers in Gatwick Road was burgled.

She said: “It’s horrible. Especially when someone takes everything you use to to make a living with.

“It’s our livelihood and it’s a massive inconvenience for a couple of quid for them.”

The salon closed for a day after more than £1,500 worth of tools, a CCTV camera and two charity boxes were stolen at about 8.30pm on Sunday (April 10).

CCTV footage from a nearby Subway restaurant showed two young men together. One climbed on to the roof and smashed a window at the back, said Jane.

She added it was the fourth time burglars targeted the salon in a year. Intruders stole £300 in April 2015, charity boxes in August, and a window smashed in a break-in attempt in November.

Police linked five burglaries at businesses in Gatwick Road, including two at the Subway, in August 2015.

Audrey McClung discovered broken glass on the floor, a till and cupboards raided and hairdressing equipment stolen from Pauline, Three Bridges Road on Tuesday last week (April 5).

Audrey, who has run the salon for 30 years, said: “I was absolutely fuming when I got here.

“I actually stood and swore. It was just coming in and finding everything all over the floor.”

She estimated the cost of the break-in as £500. Up to £250 was stolen from staff tip boxes, £15 from a till, and hair tongs worth about £85 were taken. Replacing her salon’s back double-glazed window - which was smashed with a brick - would cost £170. And she had to cancel appointments on the day after the raid.

Audrey has been a hairdresser all her life. She was born and bred in Crawley and took over Pauline, keeping its original name, about 30 years ago.

Audrey had worked hard to decorate it and buy new equipment. She said: “It was just a mess everywhere. I came in on Tuesday morning about 7.30am so it must have happened in the early hours.

“They had broke through the back window and there was glass everywhere.”

Raiders had gone through the salon and tipped the contents of cupboards and left hair straighteners and tools on the floor. Audrey said a burglar climbed a brick wall behind her salon. A brick was loosened and used to smash the window. Audrey said she had heard of similar break-ins at hairdressers recently.

Police have not linked the raids.

Nailistics, Three Bridges Road, was also burgled on Thursday, a spokesman said.