Barber shop reopens in new location after business is wrecked by neighbouring Borneo Bistro blaze

Barbering@SR4 was closed by the fire, which began in the Borneo Bistro premises on the night of Saturday, September 1.

The blaze, which began in the kitchen area of the restaurant, was found to have started accidentally by investigators from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.

Now Noor Stevens, who ran the barbers, has set up a new base, moving from 127 Hylton Road to 68 Hylton Road.

She discovered her first shop had been damaged after spotting a video of the fire posted on Facebook.

The 32-year-old has sent her thanks to all those who helped relaunch her venture, which is run with the help of fellow barber Ryan Robson, 24.

The mum-of-three said: "We've had the keys for three weeks and we've had the builders and joiners in and a lot of friends have been helping us out, so we really want to thank them.

"It's a lot bigger and more open premises than before.

"It's lovely that so many people helped us out."

Her husband Harry, 52, added: "The fire has just totally devastated us, because we've been working until 11pm every night to get this all sorted, but it's good to be back and it's great to see Noor back to doing what she loves."

Noor was helped to get back on her feet by SB Barbering Academy, which has donated chairs and equipment including products, gowns and neck brushes.

Borneo Bistro has also told its customers it is planning to reopen.