A BOURNEMOUTH hair and beauty salon, which has been open less than a year, has been shortlisted for a prestigious English Hair and Beauty Award.

Hush Hair and Beauty in Albert Road has been shortlisted in the hair salon of the year, south west category and staff will travel to Manchester on March 30 to find out whether they have won.

“We were absolutely shocked and overwhelmed when we heard we were finalists. We have not even been open a year and to be nominated is just fantastic and makes me feel very proud,” said owner Fay Cole.

“It shows that the last nine months of hard work is really starting to pay off.”

Rachel Brown, of event organisers Creative Oceanic, said: “The competition is heated this year as we have finalists from all over England. We would like to wish all the finalists the best of luck and we look forward to delivering yet another great event.”

The salon is a labour of love for 25-year-old hairdresser Fay, as she designed the salon on Albert Road from the ground up. She said: “I have worked in hair and beauty since I was 16 and it has always been my ambition to design and run my own salon. We use only high-end products and we aim to send all our clients back out into Bournemouth looking like their best possible self.”