WHEN Margaret Sherlock opened her hairdressing salon the day she brought her 10-day old baby home from hospital, little did she realise that 60 years later she would still be styling hair.

Blackburn Rovers fan Margaret has clocked up six decades with the scissors and dryer and her daughter Linda, who of course has just celebrated her 60th birthday, is now the business manager there.

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Hair By Margaret is an institution in Chorley and the energetic 86-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down.

Indeed, many of those clients from those early days have remained loyal and turn up at the back street salon on Stratford Road to get hair styled and to meet up with friends.

Margaret originally trained as a hairdresser in the 1940s in Northern Ireland before moving to Chorley a few years later.

Once the business became established, she was joined by her late husband Frank. She has always loved the job so much that she only took two days off when her son Adrian, 53, was born.

Margaret, said: “I regard everyone as a friend rather than just a client. We like to think we don’t just style client’s hair but help to brighten their day and share in the ups and downs of their lives.”

During her time in business, Margaret has seen many styles come and go and has been asked for everything ranging from the feather cut to the Purdey cut and the famous Princess Diana flicked bob of the 1980s.

“It’s amazing the changes I have seen in the last 60 years.

“I still have my original perming machine and we even had rocket perms in the sixties but the products I use now are much kinder to the hair,” she said.

“As well as the more modern cut and blow dry styles, we do the traditional perms and shampoos and sets,” she said.

“I still have one lady who likes her finger waves and she is always telling me how well her hair stays in and how often it is admired.”

Margaret and her family are all passionate Blackburn Rovers fans and in the days before Jack Walker’s investment in the 1960s and 70s would collect waste paper for recycling and sell bingo cards to raise money for the club.

Margaret is often asked about plans to retire but she has no intention of hanging up her scissors any time soon. She said: “I tell them all to stop worrying as I intend to carry on for a long time yet.”