A married couple who own a popular Hayes hair salon were amazed to recently discover they had made it through to the finals of a prestigious award after being nominated by anonymous members of the public.

The Hairdressers in Botwell Lane is owned by Yasmin and Damian Faria who received an email at the end of August saying they were finalists in the London Hair and Beauty Awards 2016.

Winners of the prize will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday October 2 in Central London, but Mr and Mrs Faria will not be attending the event as they are on holiday abroad.

Owners of The Hairdressers Yasmin and Damian Faria

'We're just a small salon in Hayes'

Yasmin, 44, told getwestlondon: “It's quite nerve-racking but exciting at the same time.

“It came from nowhere really. We were really shocked. We're just a small salon in Hayes.”

The couple have owned the salon for four and a half years after they bought it from Damian's relatives.

This is the first time in the salon's 22-year history it has been nominated for an award.

Yasmin worked as a sales manager before taking over the business Damian is a former IT manager.

Damian, 45, said: “It would be nice to think we're going to win but we don't want to jinx it.

The Hairdressers is a finalist in the team and service category

“We're up against a couple of big chains though.”

The team of seven stylists and two owners have been nominated in the team and service category.

But due to a pre-booked holiday the owners will not be able to attend the ceremony but said they will be phoning the hotel to find out the winners on the night.

The salon will be holding a coffee morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support on Friday, September 23.

Last year the free event raised over £200.

It runs from 9.30am to 5pm.