A ROMSEY hair salon has been forced to move out of the town centre after the electricity bill doubled.

Halo Hair Salon had been based in Bell Street for the last three years.

However, owner Natalie Smith had to make the 'heartbreaking' decision to move out.

Natalie, 48, said that the poor Christmas trade and increasing prices meant she had to move.

She said: “The electricity bill shot up from £178 to £400. Christmas trade was absolutely dire. I could usually rely on that to be the busiest time of the year.

“We also had a lot of staff illness and I was ill myself which meant we lost trade.”

Natalie will now be renting a chair at House of Beauty in Totton and has rebranded as Halo at no.52.

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Posting on her Facebook page, Natalie said: “Due to the current financial climate I have decided to make the heartbreaking decision to close the salon.

“I will be renting a chair in a lovely salon in Totton so if any of my wonderful clients want to join me that would be wonderful."

Natalie was confident that most of her customers would follow her to Totton. The Facebook post has more than 50 comments with many people saying they would move with her and wishing her well for the future.

Julian Gee, Romsey Chamber of Trade president, said: "It is always regrettable to lose a business in Romsey but this reflects the situation nationally and Romsey is expected to do better than many other towns over the difficult period ahead. At the Chamber we are doing what we can for our members by running events and information sessions designed to help them run their businesses more effectively overall. 

"For example we have the following event which could be of help to many local businesses very soon, facebook.com/events/868407454282817/?ref=newsfeed."

The move will mean that she will only be paying for renting the chair and her own stock. Natalie starts in Totton on January 9.