Man arrested after charitable salon's window broken

A man was arrested after a salon's attempt to bring Christmas cheer was brought to an abrupt end.

Inspire Me in Southsea's Albert Road held a special day for homeless people to get their hair cut on Monday.

But a homeless man who was having his hair cut shouted abuse at staff and broke the salon's front window.

A 58-year-old man from Portsmouth was in custody on Tuesday, having been arrested on suspicion of common assault and criminal damage, police said.

Chloe Fripp, the salon's owner, said the man had seemed "quite off as soon as he walked in".

"He kept making quite a few sarcastic remarks. I thought maybe he was joking. I wasn't too sure. He was quite nasty to Amy, one of the ladies who was working.

"Then he just turned very nasty to the hairdresser. He got up, he just shouted a lot of abuse…and then he decided to grab our board and smash our window four times," she said.

"We called the police. Albert Road was amazing. So many people came out and helped us. Some of them came and tried to keep the man still so he could have the police deal with him."

The episode has left staff less willing to repeat the gesture in the future, she said.

"It left everyone shocked and scared, how people can just change so quickly. It's the bad people who ruin it for everyone."

Tania Marsh, the chief executive of the homeless charity Society of St James (SSJ), said she was sorry to hear what happened.

"I would always advise anyone wanting to get involved and support people who are homeless to reach out to their local specialist support providers.

"At SSJ we always welcome volunteers who want to get involved in supporting our service users because these acts of kindness are a reminder that we all care about ending homelessness and we can all do our bit to help out."

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.