A HAIR salon destroyed by fire last year, has reopened.

Halo in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, was gutted by fire in July. The building was so badly damaged it was left with no roof and water streaming through the ceilings.

Owner Jude Rizzo, 35, had taken her daughter on her first trip to Disneyland Florida at the time and returned to find her business wrecked.

Local businesses rallied round to help Jude and her staff.

She said: “Ridleys dance studio helped clear up the salon and store what we could save in their storage.

“Casa Bonita gave us so much support, letting us set up beauty treatment rooms in the back of their shop. ”

Now their old premises has been completely restored. To mark the occasion they held a grand opening, raising money for the CoppaFeel breast cancer charity at the same time.

Jude said: “The new salon is great and it’s great we are all back together again. We have a lot of young women working here so CoppaFeel seemed like a good charity to support.”