A hairdresser was left in the lurch when a customer popped out of his salon to "get some food" mid-way through her appointment - and was never seen again.
James Clarke, the owner No 23 Hair and Beauty Studio in Plymouth, described how the client left the salon in foils during her colour treatment.
The disappearing women booked in for a full-head tint and foils at a price of £70, using a name which is now thought to be fabricated.
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Telling the hairdresser that she was heading "to the shop opposite for some food" while the colour developed, the woman left the salon with a headful of foils but failed to return.
Plymouth Live reported that the salon then tried to contact the woman using the phone number she had provided, but she ignored their calls.
Staff at the salon then contacted the police and have cautioned other salons in the area to be aware of the incident.
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Posting about the incident on Facebook, alongside a 'before' shot of the woman's hair, salon staff advised: "Today we have had a first in our 4 years as a hair salon.
"A lady came in for her appointment for a Full Head Tint and Foils and during the development time, after we had applied the tint and foils, she decided to leave saying she was just popping to the shop opposite for some food and would come straight back.
"As we are not in the business of expecting our clients to be dishonest we thought nothing of it. Sadly she did not return and then proceeded to ignore our calls."
It continued: "Our stylists are self employed and when someone receives a service from them they deserve to be paid for it. Incidents like this have a big impact on small independent businesses like ours.
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"We have decided to share this story in the hope that she may read this and decide to contact us to explain her actions.
"Maybe there was an emergency or some other reason for her leaving and if so we are sure we will understand."
If anyone has any information relating to the incident they are advised to contact the salon directly on 01752 551419.
Salon owner James told Tyla: "Sadly the lady was never found. Although we did receive a lot of messages and tips regarding her identity, unhappily none of those leads panned out.
"We have changed our policies and take deposits before payment using our online booking system. We have also got into the practice of asking clients to leave an item if they have to pop to the car or next door shop during their appointment.
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"Luckily since this incident we have not had any repeat of this type of thing."
Featured Image Credit: UnsplashTopics: Hair and Beauty, Life News