Boss locked out of own salon after Covid 'vigilantes' glue door shut
Joelle Fordham, an osteopath, who had superglue squirted into her salon door lock so she couldn't get into the building for work. She also received hate mail wrongly accusing her of opening her salon when she should be closed. - Credit: DENISE BRADLEY
The owner of a health and beauty salon in Norwich treating NHS staff could not get in for work after a vandal squirted superglue into her door lock.
Iris Health & Beauty salon, Waterloo Road, Norwich. Someone foolishly thought they were operating a hair and beauty salon in Covid when in fact they are operating osteopath services, allowed under Covid guidelines. - Credit: DENISE BRADLEY
Joelle Fordham, who runs Iris Health & Beauty in Waterloo Road, also received a postcard stating: "Despite lockdown and health and beauty salons should be closed, that bit seems to have been bypassed so you can earn a buck."
The anonymous sender threatened to report Ms Fordham to the police "to investigate your opening hours".
The notice at the salon stating beauty practices are closed but the osteopath service is open, in accordance with government guidelines. - Credit: DENISE BRADLEY
But the salon is only open for osteopath appointments, with the Body Flow Osteopathy practice operating in the building, after relocating there in July 2019.
Ms Fordham, who is a registered osteopath and medical acupuncturist, said: "I felt very despondent and deflated when it happened on top of an already stressful year.
You may also want to watch:
"I went home feeling drained beyond physical exhaustion, however the support received has been very uplifting.
"The locksmith was the hero of the day because he turned up in 10 minutes. Norwich is known to have a tightly knit business community and for me that all came to life on that day.
The hate mail in the form of a postcard delivered to Iris Health & Beauty. - Credit: DENISE BRADLEY
Most Read
- 1 Work on McDonalds and Starbucks site 'breaks rules', councillors claim
- 2 First look inside Norfolk garden centre after £1.25m refurbishment
- 3 Date given for opening of new McDonald's
- 4 'Foolish' - Landowner could face prosecution after drilling into trees
- 5 'Vindictive' man torched couple's new home - after failing to buy it
- 6 People urged to get Covid test twice a week
- 7 No recent virus cases in more than a quarter of Norfolk and Waveney
- 8 'The nicest people shop in Lidl' - Women amazed by act of kindness
- 9 Teenager who died in motorcycle crash named
- 10 Teen who torched toilets not allowed to be drunk anywhere in Norfolk
"Vigilante activity is not acceptable in a civilised society. Our building is home to a beautician who has been closed for most of this year, in full compliance with government guidance, but osteopaths also work within the building. Osteopaths are front line health care workers."
Ms Fordham doesn't know if it was the same person who glued the lock and sent the hate mail but she reported both incidents to the police.
The hate mail and the door lock which had to be replaced after someone glued it shut because they wrongly thought a business was operating in lockdown when they shouldn't be. - Credit: DENISE BRADLEY
"Please know that some of our clients are doctors, nurses, police officers and key workers. I beg you, be kind, we're all doing our damn best in extremely challenging times."
Philip Tucker, from PT Lock & Safe in Norwich, replaced the lock with an anti-vandalism device in about 20 minutes. "In about 35 years of being in this job, I've only seen locks glued up about 10-15 times but not in Norwich."
A spokeswoman from Norfolk police said: "Police had a report of criminal damage at Waterloo Road. Locks to the premises had been glued shut and a letter left between 10pm on Monday January 11 and 10am on Wednesday, January 13 2021."
If anyone has information about the incident they should contact Norfolk police and quote crime reference number 36/2488/21.
