THE owner of a Chippenham hair salon has been left angry and upset after burglars broke in to his salon, stole £800 worth of products and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Salon Secrets was broken into some time between October 15 and 17 and the thieves made off with Joico straightening irons, bottles of hair product, 40 tubes of Matrix hair colour and 20 bottles of Total Results shampoo and conditioner.

A hole was punched through the ceiling, a basin was cracked and doors were broken at the salon, which has been based on Malmesbury Road since 1999.

“They went up the stairs and tore everything up, I’m upset more than anything else,” said owner Anthony Lynch, who has been a hairdresser since 1971.

“I imagine it’s a couple of grands’ worth of work – I’ve got to replace the ceiling.

“We’re working at half capacity. It’s October so it’s not the busiest time – it would have been worse if it was in a couple of weeks’ time.

“The problem is trying to get the place fixed up before Christmas.

“We’ve had lots of support from customers – I think they are shocked.”

Access was gained via the top floor of the salon and a hole was smashed in the floor to gain access to the ground floor. They made their getaway through a disabled access door.

“I found out last Monday morning, just after one of our staff had gone in,” said Mr Lynch.

“They asked if I had been in the shop and seen the mess. I said there was supposed to be someone coming in to decorate but I was told there was a hole in the ceiling.

“I thought it was the water but when I got up there everything became apparent.”

PC Sue McCartney, from Wiltshire Police, said: “We are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious on the premises at about 8.30pm on Sunday evening.”

“The offenders would no doubt have caused a fair amount of noise as they broke into the salon and caused a significant amount of damage to the ceiling.

“A large number of bottles of hair product were stolen during the burglary – it is likely that the offenders may have been carrying several bags when they left the premises.

“This incident has understandably been distressing for the owners of the salon, who work hard to run a business and provide a service for their clients.”

Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.