A HAIRDRESSER leapt on his bicycle to chase a thief who stole his cashbox.

Garri Bailey was astounded when a man walked into Saint hair & beauty, in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, and grabbed a red box containing £1,000 cash.

He decided to pedal around Westcliff in search of the thief, and eventually confronted him and a woman in the alleyway at the end of the road.

The pair were both talking on mobile phones when Mr Bailey interrupted them and demanded his money back.

“I was terrified,” he said. “They were at the end of the alleyway and this woman was squaring up to me and saying they didn’t know what I was talking about.”

Mr Bailey, 28, backed off and eventually found a passer-by to dial 999.

But by the time the police had arrived at about 5.15pm on Wednesday the pair had gone.

Mr Bailey said the alleyway needs to be blocked off because it is a breeding ground for trouble and flytipping. He added the known shortcut was dark and that he had heard of people hiding in the bushes.

“There are drunks who sleep in the bushes as well. They need to block it off – it’s such a danger.”

The money snatched included £50 which had been raised for charity by selling raffle tickets.

The salon has been preparing for a masquerade ball on December 28 in aid of Orchid, a men’s cancer charity, and had been doing its best to raise £3,000 for them.

Police are now reviewing CCTV from the shop. Mr Bailey found the empty cashbox dumped by the alleyway, so it can be checked for fingerprints.

Officers are looking for an Asian man in his early to mid twenties, about 5ft 9ins tall, who was wearing a Nike navy blue hoodie with little white daggers on it and a black-and-white scarf.

The woman was Turkish in appearance and also aged 20 to 25. She is 5ft 8ins tall, and has curly, frizzy, long brown hair with streaks. She was wearing a grey and white tracksuit.

Anyone with information should call Southend police on 0300 3334444.