A suspected stolen car smashed into a hair salon during an early morning police chase.
A black Vauxhall Corsa crashed into Viva hair salon on Union Street, Southport , at around 2.15am, with the driver then fleeing from the scene on foot.
A male passenger suffered a head injury in the crash.
The car was believed to have been stolen from Janes Brook Road shortly before and was spotted by patrols on Seabank Road.
A short pursuit followed before the car smashed into the shop front and destroyed a lamppost in the process.
The passenger, a 48-year-old man, was taken to hospital for treatment and is said to be in a stable condition.
The driver of the car has not yet been located and efforts to locate him are ongoing.
Images show the devastating damage caused to the salon - with some of Southport's brand-new Christmas lights also ruined in the smash.
Vivien Sebasianelli owned the shop for 27 years before recently handing over the reigns to her daughter.
Speaking to the Visiter later that morning, she remained defiant in the face of the setback.
She said: “At about 3am, the police rang and said there’d been an incident. Police were chasing two men in the car and it turned sideways and came through the windows.
“We’ve had trouble before with people throwing bins at the windows and fighting in the street but never anything like this.”
Viven added: “We’ve just got to keep going and keep smiling. We can’t let them hold us back.”
Enquiries into the incident are ongoing and police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police CC.
Alternatively, call 101 quoting incident 19100673561 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online/
