THE owner of a hairdressers that was targeted by an intruder says more needs to be done to secure the town centre.


Mandy Miller, 43, from Classy Cuts on Barrow Street, was left furious after a man smashed the window to her shop with a gas canister before making off with just £20.


But the burglary caused £1,000 of damage, which has left the mum-of-three, who previously had a salon on Ormskirk Street for 15 years, distraught.


A number of town centre buildings have been broken into this month – including Caffe Nero, Sabroso, the HoneyRose Foundation, The Bridal Loft, the Market Tavern and the HoneyRose Foundation.


In response, Mandy has formed a private Facebook community watch group with other business owners in the town centre. They use it to compare CCTV footage.


Mandy said: “The people who do this think they are targeting businesses who can claim on their insurance, but the damage caused to my shop was worse than what was taken, so that’s come out of my pocket. 


“That’s my kids’ Christmas money. It’s bad any business is getting burgled but family owned or small businesses take the hit a lot more.


“I’m proud to be from St Helens, we stick together in times of crisis, but police are overstretched.

The guy who did my shop got cut, so I am waiting on DNA coming back. But officers still haven’t been in for my CCTV and there is no presence.


“The PCSOs have been amazing, but there isn’t enough of them in town. I called police on 101 and was waiting for 40 minutes.


“There is supposed to be this big push to invest in the town centre. But if more isn’t done to secure the town centre, and support business owners, then no one is going to come here because the fact is that no one feels safe anymore.”


Police issued a statement reassuring businesses that they are exploring a number of lines of enquiry and “doing everything in our power to apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice”.


A man was arrested in connection with a break-in and theft of a charity box at Caffe Nero before being released under investigation.


Call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.