Christmas will come early for 100 schoolgirls this year, thanks to the owner of a popular Barrhead hair salon.

Jill Loney, who runs Jilly & Friends, wanted to do something special to celebrate the salon’s first year in town.

And, with so many families facing a squeeze on their budget during the cost-of-living crisis, she decided that treating 100 local children to a free haircut or styling session would fit the bill.

Jill is handing 25 vouchers each to Hillview Primary, St Mark’s Primary, Neilston Primary and St Thomas’ Primary to distribute to pupils.

The vouchers are valid at the salon, in Cross Arthurlie Street, this month and in December, with some of the schoolgirls expected to use them to make sure they look and feel great when attending a Christmas party.

Jill, 35, told the Barrhead News: “I wanted to do something to give back to the community that have helped us so much.

“When we moved to Barrhead after three years of being in Paisley, everyone was so welcoming and supportive.

“With the cost-of-living crisis, there will be families struggling over the festive season, so giving the schoolgirls a free hairstyle for their Christmas party is the least we can do to help.

“I decided to hand the vouchers to the schools so there is less stigma or negative feelings around children coming into the salon for a free treatment.

“All of the treatments will be done by two of my stylists, Maria Quigley and Shannon Campbell. They are really excited about getting stuck in and I couldn’t have done this without their help.”

It has been a difficult time for many traders as they recover from lockdown restrictions that were imposed during the Covid pandemic but Jill said the way local residents have rallied round to help businesses such as her salon has made a huge difference.

“We are so grateful for the support we’ve had from the people of Barrhead,” she added. “They have kept us busy over the past year and we hope this small gesture will make the festive season a little bit easier for anyone who is struggling.”

Kind-hearted Jill also intends to continue ‘giving back’ to the community after the festive season is over.

She added: “I am planning to hand out more vouchers to the other primary schools in the area that we missed this time around.”