The co-owner of a Bethnal Green beauty salon is "unable to sleep" after her shop was ransacked and £30,000 worth of items were stolen.
On December 6 at around 4.30am, two men broke into OPV Beauty in Brick Lane.
They were caught on CCTV stealing and damaging what co-owner Opeyemi Adeyemo estimates to be tens of thousands of pounds worth of products.
Opeyemi runs the salon with her sister Bukola and the siblings discovered the broken front door and aftermath inside the shop as they arrived for their day's work later that morning.
“They took a lot of makeup, they took our iPad, they took our MacBook and our specialist hair extensions which we just got from our suppliers," Opeyemi told this paper.
“In total they took things of a value of £30,000.
“They mashed up our dryer and they mashed up our table and took aesthetic injections as well as hair dye, shampoo, conditioner – they took everything."
Opeyemi and Bukola opened OPV Beauty in July 2022 as their first business together.
They offer hair services including wig fittings, washes and colouring as well as pedicures, manicures and makeup services.
Opeyemi said she has been left feeling "sad" and "unsafe" after the incident.
“I haven’t been able to sleep – I wake up every minute wondering how I’m going to be able to put money on the table for Christmas," she said.
“We’re a small company – we’re not Tesco or Asda. Things are very, very difficult in the United Kingdom right now and we don’t expect people to come and rob us and bring us down.
“We’re trying to survive and create things for the community.
“It’s very sad to see people destroying other people’s livelihoods."
The salon is currently offering nail services but is unable to do hair work as the majority of its resources and tools were taken during the burglary.
Opeyemi said hair work was the salon's "main income".
Christine Brown, one of OPV Beauty's regular clients, has set up a GoFundMe page to help the sisters recoup some of their lost money.
At the time of writing, £1,315 has been raised.
Christine wrote: "These two young ladies have poured their hearts, soul, time and every resource they had into building their beauty salon from absolutely nothing.
"In just a blink of an eye, years of hard work has been destroyed. Expensive hair, equipment, supplies, and other essential tools they use to generate an income has been stolen and damaged.
"If you’re able to donate, share, or simply send support, it would mean the world."
You can donate to the GoFundMe page here - Help rebuild OPV beauty after a robbery
A Met Police spokesperson said: "At around 04:30hrs on Saturday, 6 December, police received reports of a burglary at a shop in Brick Lane, Bethnal Green, E1.
"Officers attended to find damage caused to the front door of the premises as well as inside, with a number of items stolen.
"No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.
"Local safer neighbourhood team officers have been conducting additional patrols in the area following the incident.
"Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 quoting CAD3032/06DEC. Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
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