A salon owner has spoken of her devastation after two masked men stole equipment in an early hours raid.
Burglars smashed their way into The Skin Hair and Beauty Lounge making off with a laser machine.
Now, the devastated owner of the Fair Oak salon, Michelle Maxwell has been left severely out of pocket.
'Shocked and disgusted'
She will now need to fork out £20k to replace the equipment stolen and to repair the damages.
The 46-year-old said: “I was shocked and disgusted.
“The men used a crowbar and smashed through the front door of the salon.
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“I heard them say on our CCTV that they were looking for lasers and they took one of them.
“We haven’t been open long, only just over a year, and we have been working our butts off to get established.
“The whole team has been amazing and we have all pulled together to make a success of it.
“Then these people come and take it away. It was devastating.”
'Trashed the place'
In CCTV footage shared with the Echo, the masked pair are seen searching the salon and talking about a laser machine, which they later hauled away.
Michelle is now considering using additional security measures after what happened.
She said: “I’m looking at £20k to repair the salon and replace what was stolen.
“We are going to chain our equipment to the store. What else can you do when you already have cameras and locks?
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“There’s not a lot of money in a salon, and we never leave cash there. There’s nothing much of value, but they trashed the place which left a lot of damage.”
Michelle’s business was not the only one targeted by thieves on Thursday morning.
Police are investigating a spate of burglaries at businesses in Fair Oak, Otterbourne, and Chandler's Ford.
A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: “The Skin, Hair and Beauty Lounge in Fair Oak, Richmond House Beauty and Guillaume Vappereau Hair Studio in Otterbourne, and Elite Salon in Chandler's Ford were all broken into in the early hours of the morning.
“Anyone with information should call 101, quoting the reference 44220520457.”
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