A Melbourn hair salon has been applauded for going ‘above and beyond’ in implementing safety measures to reassure clients and get the salon up and running again after lockdown.

Alison Hopwood has run Third Generation Hair Studio in High Street for 15 years – and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic meant her business closed days before the government lockdown was announced.

Alison told the Crow: “When lockdown struck, I kept in touch with clients and gave advice over the phone. I rang my regulars who I knew were on their own every week at the time they would normally come in.”

When restrictions eased and salons could reopen again, Alison worked hard to make the salon safe – and her efforts were even recognised by South Cambs District Council, who featured a video of Alison explaining her measures on their Facebook page.

She said: “You come in and have your temperature taken, you sanitise your hands, you’re then sat down and we track and trace you and there are plastic partitions in the salon. You come in the front door and go out the back door.

“People come in and are literally on the edge of the seat and we explain everything to them and they are happy to be guided by us.

“When lockdown eased, we were ready for anything, South Cambs’ High Street Support Team said we had gone above and beyond to make it as safe as it can be – which I was very proud of.

“Pubs and hospitality are spoken about in the media but there’s not as much attention on businesses like ours, so having SCDC come in and highlight what we are doing was a great ‘thank you’ and we are appreciative of their support.

“Our government has been very helpful to me, the guidance has been good, and the financial help has been good.

“The business we left is not the business we now have. People went 16 weeks without having their hair done so they are now not thinking they need to get it done every six weeks. We do have the clients, we just don’t have them as often. We want people to know are offering the highest standard of service and are going above and beyond to make the experience as personal as we can.”

Search ‘Third Generation Hair Studio’ on Facebook or call 01763 262291 for more information.