Armed thug robbed salon and attacked owner in front of customers

Thomas Gough forced his way into Kyasha Hair & Beauty Salon in Widnes and wrapped his hand around the neck of the terrified salon owner while shouting ‘give me the f*cking money’ and threatening her with a knife.

He appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Friday for sentencing after pleading guilty to one count of robbery and another of possession of a bladed article.

Outlining the facts of the case, prosecutor Michael O’Brien said the incident occurred at around 6.30pm at the Widnes Road salon on Wednesday, November 22 last year.

He explained how the salon owner was present in the shop with her colleague and two customers, and the door of the shop was locked at the time.

“She was sitting on a sofa inside the salon and describes hearing the door handle being moved as someone was trying to enter the salon,” Mr O’Brien said.

The robbery occurred at Kyasha Hair & Beauty salon in Widnes (Image: Google Maps)
“She thought it may have been a previous customer who may have forgotten something so approached the door to see who was there.

“She then opened the door slightly to see who was there and at this point she saw a man with a cap on who was saying something like, 'where is it or where is he?'.”

The victim confirmed that she did not know the man or the reason why he was stood outside her salon.

As she began to close the door again, the court heard how she felt a ‘sudden force’ from the other side as Gough pushed his way inside the shop.

The owner shouted at him ‘what are you doing’ and described how the 33-year-old replied with equal aggression but slurring his words, demanding ‘where is it’ and ‘give it me’.

He was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

“The victim states that she was trying to usher him out of the salon, but he was getting closer and closer to her, so she put both of her hands out to create some space between them,” the prosecutor continued.

“She just wanted him to leave the salon at this point. However, the next thing she knew the man had his left hand around her neck, specifically around her windpipe, she states she began to panic and was struggling to breathe.”

Despite the woman trying to release Gough’s grip around her neck, the defendant persisted with force and began shouting, ‘give me the f*cking money’.

It was then that the owner noticed the knife he was holding in his other hand, which she described as ‘a silver blade that was no longer than an index finger’.

The court heard how the defendant then began swinging his arm from left to right in front of the complainant’s face and she came to the realisation that she ‘could not fight him off’.

Thomas Gough was jailed for the offences (Image: Cheshire Police)
He was also making stabbing motions with the knife, using it to threaten her.

Her colleague then walked into the room and shouted for Gough to get out of the shop.

The defendant let go of the salon owner and turned his attention to the colleague, lunging towards her in a way that suggested he was about to attack her.

In an attempt to divert his attention, the owner ran ‘quickly towards the till’ and retrieved a bundle of cash from it, approximately between £150 and £200.

Gough moved towards her and ‘grabbed it out of her hands’ before fleeing from the shop.

He was followed closely by the complainant who ran outside the shop and began shouting, ‘he just robbed me’.

“She said she was hoping that somebody would help by getting hold of the man,” Mr O’Brien explained

The sentencing was heard at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: NQ)
However, Gough heard this and shouted ‘shut up’ before making his way back towards the salon.

Before things could escalate further, the owner ran back inside the shop and locked the door.

One of the customers who witnessed the incident called Cheshire Police and officers attended the scene.

The defendant was later located and arrested by police.

Gough has multiple previous convictions on his record including two robbery offences dating back to when he was 17 and 25 years old.

Addressing the defendant before sentencing, judge Recorder Kendrick Horne detailed how the robbery last year has left the victim still feeling ‘nervous’.

“The robbery contributed to her decision to leave the company,” he said. “Other people present at the scene reported that they were still looking over their shoulders.

“You did not just produce a knife u made motion with the knife that looked like stabbing motions. You produced a bladed article to threaten her with.”

Recorder Horne added that an aggravating feature of the case was the fact the defendant was under the influence of drink at the time of his offending.

However, he commended him for his written letter of apology and the fact he had completed an alcohol awareness course and had agreed to meet the victims of the robbery face to face.

Gough, of Halton Lodge, Runcorn, was handed an immediate prison sentence of 64 months with an extended licence period of 20 months.