A TRUSTED customer at a Southend hair salon fled with a £300 wig on his head.

The man, in his forties, was being fitted at Studio 9 salon in Queens Road when he claimed his girlfriend had texted asking him to pop outside and collect his keys.

But he never came back, leaving behind his jacket and the phone which turned out to have no sim card.

Owner Michael Morriss, 66, said: “This guy has been coming to me for the past five years and comes in about every eight or nine months for a new hairpiece.

“I think it comes down to the credit crunch. He probably wanted to go for something like a job interview and wanted a new hairpiece in order to look good, but just couldn’t afford it.”

Known to staff as Eric the Greek, the man regularly visited the salon to have a new semi-permanent human hair wig fitted and cut to a style.

Last Tuesday, the man called up and asked for a wig urgently, saying he needed to have it fitted by the weekend.

Mr Morriss, of Thorpe Esplanade, Thorpe Bay, said: “We would spend about one-and-a-half to two hours with this guy each time, putting the new hairpieces on, so it’s someone we know who has done this to us.

“My son Christopher was styling the hairpiece when the man suddenly said ‘I’ve just had a text from my girlfriend who has brought me my keys because I left them at her flat’.

“Because this guy has been coming to us for five years he didn’t think twice.”

Staff at the salon tried calling the man on Friday and Saturday, but the mobile number they have for him was unobtainable.

Mr Morriss added: “I left it about 24 hours before I called the police because I was worried he might have had a reason for leaving, like an emergency, but he hasn’t been back to pay or called to explain.”

Christopher, 29, who runs the salon with his father, added: “I feel very betrayed, but he hasn’t done himself any favours because we are one of the only salons in Essex offering this service.

“He’s a necessity wearer – without the hairpiece he would be bald on top. Now he’ll have to travel miles or go into London where it will cost him a lot more.”

The hairpiece the man had been fitted with was dark brown in colour and had been cut into a spiky, modern style.

Eric the Greek is in his early forties, around 5ft 8ins tall with a Mediterranean complexion and dark eyes.

Anyone with any information should call Southend police on 0300 3334444.