Chesterfield barber shop carries out hundreds of haircuts since reopening

Less Than Zero Barbers was one of many hospitality businesses across the town to welcome customers back inside after lockdown restrictions were relaxed in England on Saturday.

MORE: Dad hails ‘life-savers’ who came to his aid after nasty accident in Chesterfield

Martin Wallis-Keyworth, owner of the Soresby Street shop, said it was ‘great’ to be back in business.

“We’ve seen 210 people since we reopened,” he told the Derbyshire Times on Monday.

“A lot of people have been saying they’re pleased that things are finally getting back to some kind of normality.

“Customers are leaving us feeling a lot fresher and better about how they look which is fantastic.”

Martin said there are several health and safety measures in place at his business.

Customers must wear a face mask while inside – people can bring their own or use one provided by the shop. They can, however, take it off if their beard is being trimmed.

People are also required to use hand sanitiser when they enter and leave the premises.

The chairs are at least a metre apart and staff are, among other things, wearing face shields, using disposable towels and carrying out thorough cleans with ‘hospital-grade spray’ in between every haircut.

Less Than Zero Barbers employs six people.

Martin said his business had taken advantage of the Government’s furlough scheme as well as grant and loan initiatives to help firms bounce back from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s just great to be back at work,” he added.

Pubs, bars and restaurants also reopened on Saturday after being closed for nearly four months to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

John Apter, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said ‘the majority of people were sensible’ on what was dubbed ‘Super Saturday’.

However, some violence erupted in Chesterfield.

This video of a fight, which is believed to have happened at the Portland Hotel on West Bars, has been seen nearly 100,000 times on Facebook.

A Wetherspoons spokesperson confirmed that a fight had taken place between three groups of customers in which staff members who tried to break it up were assaulted.

MORE: Petition launched to save Derbyshire shop with 'loyal' customer base

A message from the editor

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor