Fire-hit beauty salon in Northampton set to reopen with free sunbed sessions

Lynne Seal and Jayne Ayris were devastated on May 31 this year when a fire broke out in a sunbed at Tan'd, the business they had run in Woodley Chase, Duston for 12 years.

The Moulton siblings were forced to close because of damage caused by flames in a back room, plus extensive heat and smoke damage to the rest of the building.

Recalling the day, Lynne said: "I was just at Hardingstone when I took the call from Jayne. She said there was a small fire in one of the sunbeds but she was very calm.

"In the time it took me to drive to Main Road, in Duston, there was smoke billowing out of the upstairs windows.

"There was two fire engines, all the road was cordoned off and there was all these people outside. It just didn't seem real."

Although Jayne was keen to tackle the small blaze with a fire extinguisher, the 999 call handler advised that everyone should calmly leave.

Fire crews arrived quickly - by which time all staff and customers had evacuated safely - but the flames had taken hold and they were unable to prevent thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Jayne said: "The firefighter came to us and to prepare us for looking inside. He said: 'I know it's your business, it's not going to be nice.'"

But the sisters are poised to turn disaster into triumph this Friday following three months of solid work to totally transform the salon.

Not only are they reopening, they are doing so bigger and better with more rooms and an updated boutique-style look.

Lynne said: "Maybe other people would have just cleaned up and put everything back in the same place.

"But we needed it to feel like a completely different shop."

As well as the new look, £60,000 has been spent on new sunbeds and several completely new rooms downstairs. Refurbishments have also taken place in the upstairs treatment rooms, which will once again be manned by Janine, Sam and Laura.

Jayne added: "It's literally taken over our lives, we've been here every day. It's been a lot of hard work.

"We honestly don't know at the minute whether next year we'll be 50 grand in debt or cruising in the Caribbean but we're very excited about in."

To celebrate the re-opening, anyone who comes into Tan'd this Friday (September 7) can have a free sunbed session.

There will also be cupcakes and prosecco on offer and a prize draw to win a one-hour sunbed course.