Man arrested following window damage at charitable salon

An individual has been apprehended subsequent to an incident that prematurely concluded a salon’s initiative to spread Christmas spirit. Inspire Me, located on Albert Road in Southsea, had organized a dedicated day on Monday for homeless individuals to receive haircuts. However, a homeless man receiving a haircut reportedly verbally abused staff members and shattered the salon’s main window. Police confirmed that a 58-year-old man from Portsmouth was taken into custody on Tuesday. He was arrested on suspicion of common assault and criminal damage. Chloe Fripp, the proprietor of the salon, stated that the man appeared “quite off as soon as he walked in.” She elaborated, “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.” Fripp continued, “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.” Fripp added, “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.” According to Fripp, the incident has diminished the staff’s inclination to replicate the charitable initiative in the future. She remarked, “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), expressed regret upon learning of the events. She advised, “I would always advise anyone wanting to get involved and support people who are homeless to reach out to their local specialist support providers.” Marsh further stated, “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.” For further updates, BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight can be followed on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external sites. Details concerning our approach to external linking are available.